Event Summary
Faced with a struggling economy and a bleak economic forecast, all eyes will be on President-elect Obama as he assumes the presidency and addresses the pressing issues facing the nation. During the critical first 100 days, Obama and his Cabinet will have many questions to answer as they work through their agenda. White House press secretaries fill essential roles of announcing, explaining, and defending the administration’s actions to the public through the news media.
Event Information
When
Thursday, December 18, 2008
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Where
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
On December 18, the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion of the key role of the White House press secretary, especially at the beginning of a new administration. Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings, provided introductory remarks. Stephen Hess, Brookings senior fellow and author of a new presidential transition workbook What Do We Do Now? (Brookings Institution Press, 2008), moderated the discussion.
Panelists included current White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, Mike McCurry, who served as White House press secretary during the Clinton administration, and Ron Nessen, who served as White House press secretary during the Ford administration.
Transcript
DARRELL WEST: The job of the White House Press Secretary has to rank as the most unpredictable position in the world. I mean one day you may be dodging questions from Helen Thomas, and the next day you’re dodging shoes from foreign journalists.
. . .But if the job has its unpredictable moments, it also is clear that the position is one of the most important in government. The press spokesperson is the daily face of the administration on a wide variety of issues, and how that individual performs has great consequences both for politics and policy-making. Today we have put together a distinguished panel of former press secretaries to provide their perspective on this unique job.
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Participants
Panelists
Dana Perino
White House Press Secretary
Mike McCurry
Partner, Public Strategies Washington, Inc.
Former White House Press Secretary
Ron Nessen
Journalist in Residence, The Brookings Institution
Former White House Press Secretary