White House Interview Program

The Needs

Establishing an Institutional Memory. There is no institutional memory in a White House. Unlike corporations both large and small, a White House begins without a record of what its previous occupants did. Our project will provide incoming staff with information on the functions, organizational schemes, and roles played by the heads of selected White House offices. The White House offices are: Chief of Staff, Staff Secretary, Press Office, Office of Communications, Office of Counsel to the President, and Office of Administration.

Making Effective Use of Good Will Produced by Victory and a Suspension of Partisanship. There is a recognized sense among the political community as well as the public at large that a President should be provided an opportunity to govern without insistent carping of his enemies. That period early in a President's term is both precious and brief. Our program is aimed at providing information at a time when it can be used most effectively.

The Program

Building a Base of Comparable Information Across Administrations. Beginning with the Nixon White House, we will gather information on selected White House offices in order to develop comparable information across the six administrations. We will interview approximately 75 former officials and supplement our interviews with materials from presidential libraries and from secondary sources.

Developing Materials Positioning the Incoming Staff to Govern. What sets us apart from earlier transition efforts is our interest in preparing and delivering materials based on the information we glean from our interviews that will position the incoming staff to meet their own goals. Rather than tell the new group how they should organize the White House, we will provide them with information on how it has been done in the past and then describe the outcomes.

A Nonpartisan Project Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a foundation known for the stature of its projects and the nonpartisan nature of its organization, we have a special objectivity. We are not associated with a particular candidate for President or persons seeking positions with the incoming administration.

Broad Based Program Implemented by Leading Presidency Scholars. The interviews will be conducted mainly by Professor Martha Kumar, but some will be completed by presidency scholars who have experience interviewing White House officials and who write about the subjects under study, including such recognized scholars as Professors George Edwards, Erwin Hargrove, Shirley Warshaw, and Stephen Wayne. Creating the interview protocol is a board of scholars associated with the Presidency Research Group, a section of the American Political Science Association,

Program Impact

A Program Designed to Meet the Transition Needs Identified by Former White House Staff. Our program responds to the information needs identified by former White House officials in interviews with them.

A Transition Information Delivery System Unparalleled in its Flexibility. Since the Web site can be accessed by authorized individuals at any given time, the information delivery system represents a more flexible system than has ever before existed for incoming staff. The project will also provide paper copies of its materials.