Executive Branch

In the News

If you are going to do something big or important, do it fast. A presidential administration is like an hourglass with the sand running out. There is a blip up with your second inauguration. You know the odds are that you are going to lose seats at the midterm election, and pretty soon you are going to look pretty lame-duckish, as even your supporters start to choose up sides over your successor.

November 23, 2012, Stephen Hess, National Journal

In the News

If the president could get something from Congress on a compromise, he might take that, but instead, since he’s not getting much of anything from Capitol Hill, he essentially is taking everything he wants, and the unilateral actions let him do that in a pretty substantial way.

October 29, 2012, John Hudak, The Washington Times

In the News

The easiest thing to say [about a president's influence on the economy] is that he isn't the only player. He is a more important player than anyone, with the possible exception of the Fed chairman.

September 15, 2012, Stephen Hess, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

In the News

I see Tim Geithner’s strengths and weaknesses as being two sides of the same coin. He understands how Wall Street and the banking systems operate. That kind of intuitive, experience-based feel served the administration reasonably well during the peak moments of the crisis. That very same experience and outlook blinded him to some of the other dimensions of that crisis and its consequences, including the sense of outrage that many Americans felt.

July 27, 2012, William A. Galston, Government Executive

Expert Q & A

How Should the Obama Administration Handle Guantánamo Bay Detainees?

August 5, 2009, Benjamin Wittes

Expert Q & A

Does the 100 Day Presidential Benchmark Matter?

April 27, 2009, Stephen Hess

Interview | CBS News

Obama's Education Policy

March 13, 2009, Jonathan Martin , Bob L. Schieffer and Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst

Expert Q & A

President Obama's Plan to Close Guantánamo

January 22, 2009, Benjamin Wittes

Interview | The Kojo Nnamdi Show

The Obama Era and the Digital White House

January 13, 2009, Lee Raines, Andrew Rasiej and Darrell M. West

Interview | The New York Times

The Challenges of Closing Guantánamo

January 13, 2009, Benjamin Wittes