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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 02, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
On Wednesday, December 2, Senior Fellow Ben Wittes will participate in a live web chat and will answer questions about President Obama’s plans for closing Guantánamo, Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s upcoming trial, and White House Counsel Greg Craig’s sudden resignation. Politico’s Fred Barbash will moderate the discussion.
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Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:15:00 GMT
In the wake of the Senate's vote to allow the health care reform debate to proceed to the Senate floor, Senior Fellow Henry Aaron cautions that any legislation to revamp the system must be fiscally responsible and should improve the quality of care. He says lawmakers have many long discussions ahead of them.
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Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:07:00 GMT
As part of a multi-nation Asia trip that began last week, President Obama, now in China, met with Chinese Premier Hu Jintao to foster greater understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and China. Kenneth Lieberthal discusses the importance of the meeting between the two leaders.
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Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:35:00 GMT
As President Obama prepares for his trip to China and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore, Richard Bush says that the APEC meetings will help the United States fortify its relationships with Asian countries.
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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Given a choice between the status quo in American education and change, the Obama administration has been bold in pursuit of change. The president and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have used the bully pulpit and the powerful lever of $5 billion in discretionary stimulus funds to push a catalog of initiatives, writes Brookings senior fellow, Russ Whitehurst. Whitehurst gives the administration an A+ for motive, effort and reach, but he writes the administration has made some questionable bets and ignored surer ones, most specifically improvements in curriculum and instruction.
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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
China’s continued ascension presents policy challenges for both Beijing and Washington. President Barack Obama will make his first trip to China from November 15-18, where he will address a multitude of issues ranging from climate change to trade and the economy to military ties between the two nations. On November 4, Kenneth Lieberthal took questions in a live web chat with Politico senior editor Fred Barbash about President Obama's first trip to China.
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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 04, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
China’s continued ascension presents policy challenges for both Beijing and Washington. President Barack Obama made his first trip to China from November 15-18. Kenneth Lieberthal and Fred Barbash, Politico's senior editor, took questions about the president’s trip to China in this edition of the Scouting Report.
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Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
On the first anniversary of President Obama's victory, Justin Vaïsse explains the delay in enacting major domestic reform by pointing out the continuing partisan polarization and the importance of checks and balances, especially the power of the Senate.
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Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Post-partisan politics is seen as providing a cure for whatever currently ails American politics. Charles Jones explores post-partisanship and the various forms of partisanship that currently exist in Washington. Although conventional wisdom tells us that we must move beyond partisanship, Jones concludes that partisanship continues to serve as the basis for the workings of American politics. Simply put, partisanship is the way lawmaking works in representative government.
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Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
October 20, 2009 marked nine months since President Barack Obama took office. Russell Wheeler compares the nomination process for the courts of appeals and district courts of the George W. Bush administration with the current one, focusing on nominations made, hearings held, nominees confirmed and nominee characteristics. Wheeler reveals two striking findings: the relatively paucity of Obama administration nominees and the delay in full Senate action on those nominees.
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Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 16, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
President Obama's decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan is being portrayed as the most momentous of his young presidency. On October 16, Brookings hosted a discussion of the president's policy options for Afghanistan, drawing on experts with a diverse range of views.
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Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama has committed himself to “reform America’s public schools,” and his administration is focused on making early childhood programs, common standards, charter schools and teachers more effective. However, writes Russ Whitehurst, the administration should also undertake actions to better integrate curriculum innovation and reform into its policy framework. "Don't Forget Curriculum” compares the size of the effects on student achievement brought about by curriculum with the size of the effects of popular reform strategies favored by the Obama administration.
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Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 09, 2009, 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
On October 9, the Brookings Institution will host Harvard Public Policy Lecturer Elaine Kamarck for a discussion of her new book, Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System (Brookings Institution Press, 2009), which explains how the presidential nomination process became the often bewildering system we have today.
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Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama's decision not to go to Congress for help in establishing reasonable standards for the continued detention of Guantánamo detainees is a failure of leadership in the project of putting American law on a sound basis for a long-term confrontation with terrorism, writes Benjamin Wittes. It is bad for the country, for national security and for civil liberties, and represents a virtually wholesale adoption of the failed policies of his predecessor.
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Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
When President Barack Obama addresses foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly and the G-20 Summit later this week, it’s a safe prediction that no one will boo or shout insults at him, at least within the halls, says Strobe Talbott. The hearing he gets in New York and Pittsburgh will reflect the astronomical popularity and hopes for his success that Obama enjoys around the globe.
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Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The current controversy over the number of "czars" in the Obama administration enjoys the rare distinction of being a political fight in Washington that everybody wants to have. However, Stephen Hess is confounded by the controversy since presidents have always had close advisers with powerful portfolios who did not require Senate confirmation.
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Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The United States Constitution states that "no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States," yet it seems political nobility is as American as apple pie, writes Stephen Hess. In developing a robust ranking of the country’s most prominent political families, Hess tracks the constant shift in America’s long history of dynastic politics.
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Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As the heated health care debate continues, Michael Fullilove weighs in on President Barack Obama's recent address to a joint session of Congress. Fullilove argues that President Obama's speech showed passion, clarity and strength, and that it will give lawmakers a necessary push towards a positive middle ground as the final bill takes shape.
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Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama ascended the podium to deliver his pivotal health care speech, he faced a number of key challenges: to regain control of a debate, to reunify a divided Democratic party, and to allay widespread public fears that have weakened support for reform in recent months. Early polls suggest that the speech was well received and had moved a substantial portion of the public in the president’s direction. On the other hand, it seems likely that three major areas of public doubt remain; Medicare, the budget deficit, and employer-provided insurance coverage, writes William Galston.
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Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
After a difficult August congressional recess in which plans to reform the nation’s health care system seemed to be in jeopardy, President Barack Obama gave a speech to a congressional joint session, making it clear that he would use every resource available to him to assure that his health care reform plan succeeds. Henry Aaron analyzes President Obama's speech.
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Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Although President Obama’s approval ratings are declining, there is nothing inexorable about this drop or the larger swing against him among Independents, writes Thomas Mann. However, if the economic downturn persists a year from now and President Obama’s approval ratings have sunk well below 50 percent, Mann predicts, Democrats are likely to lose 20 or more seats in the House and a few in the Senate.
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Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:21:19 GMT
The debate over health care reform has moved from Capitol Hill into the heartland where Members of Congress are hosting dozens of packed town hall meetings on the issue. William Frenzel, a Brookings expert and former U.S. representative from Minnesota, and the a co-chair of The Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget—which holds community meetings to gauge how the public feels about government spending—says town hall meetings should be used judiciously.
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Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- August 12, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
At the six-month mark of his presidency, Barack Obama is dealing with issues from a renewed insurgency in Afghanistan and political turmoil in Iran to a heated health care debate at home. Brookings expert William Galston and Senior Politico Editor Fred Barbash took a close look at President Obama’s progress and answered questions about how the president is doing in this edition of the Scouting Report.
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Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Many conservative commentators including, Michael Gerson, disdain President Obama’s stimulus bill and have trumpeted its alleged shortcomings. However, the accuracy of these criticisms is far from self-evident; it will be assessed by analysts in the months and years ahead as the bill’s funds are expended and evidence becomes available on their impact on the micro and macro-economy, writes Thomas Mann.
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Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With his approval ratings declining and increasing congressional infighting about health care overhaul, President Obama's reform efforts are starting to resemble President Clinton's failed attempt in 1994. However, Darrell West argues President Obama has already demonstrated much greater political effectiveness than President Clinton, and on this issue ultimately, Democrats will succeed in passing health care reform because the risks of failure are too high.
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Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:07:41 GMT
“How We're Doing: A Composite Index of Global and National Trends” compares President Obama to the prior five presidents at the six-month point and marks a baseline for future quarterly indexes. It reveals that the public is generally pleased with the new president’s performance. Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, says that maintaining the trust and confidence of the American people could take some doing.
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Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:11:16 GMT
Michael O’Hanlon says that conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq presented Obama with a situation that none of his five predecessors had to contend with in their early months in the White House.
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Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Six months into the Obama administration, a Brookings team has launched a composite index that looks back at the prior five presidents at the starting gate and marks a baseline for future quarterly indexes. Since inauguration day, the improvement in the percentage of Americans who think the country is headed in the right direction is nearly as high as after Ronald Reagan’s first half-year in office. Whether Obama can sustain the public trust will depend on how many of these indicators change from quarter to quarter.
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Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With the new political landscape, the importance of immigration for the American economy and new policy ideas that address concerns regarding low-skill workers and border security, the ingredients are in place for comprehensive immigration reform. What are required are bold leadership, a new narrative and a commitment to overcome old stereotypes. History does not have to repeat itself on immigration policy, writes Darrell West.
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Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
A new report by the AEI-Brookings Continuity of Government Commission examines vulnerabilities in the U.S. presidential succession. It has long been assumed that prospects for a smooth transfer of presidential power in the event of a terrorist attack are assured, as there is already a clear line of succession to the nation's highest office. However, as the report's authors point out, the existing presidential succession could be rendered useless by a catastrophic attack because everyone in line to succeed the president lives and works in Washington, D.C.
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Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama seems poised to adopt the Bush administration's unilateral approach to detention. This approach has failed President Bush and it will not serve President Obama any better, write Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith. The president can still get what he needs on detention, they say, if he works from Congress's bipartisan center, releases more substantial information about the detainees he thinks cannot be set free, and speaks often about the need for stable rules to govern non-criminal detentions.
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Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Michael Fullilove examines why President Obama enjoys remarkable international prestige and how it relates to his international agenda. Fullilove identifies four main themes in Obama's foreign policy to date, and reminds the president to demonstrate that there are significant costs to be incurred for opposing him on important issues.
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Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:08:40 GMT
President Barack Obama delivered a long-anticipated speech to the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, touching on extremism, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the strife between Palestinians and Israelis. Shibley Telhami says the president’s address largely achieved his objective in efforts to heal the rift in U.S.-Muslim world relations.
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Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:18:52 GMT
President Obama’s address to the Muslim world was largely well received by the Islamic community, the public and world leaders. William Galston says the speech covered many issues but hard work must follow the president’s eloquent words.
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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The explicit theme of President Obama’s speech in Cairo, was "A New Beginning," writes William Galston. President Obama has wagered his presidency on the premise that the U.S. have entered new chapter. If he is right, he will be a transformative president of historic stature.
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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As members of Congress prepare to delve into health care reform, William Galston writes that it’s time for elected officials to begin leveling with the American people about the choices they face if we are finally to achieve universal health insurance with meaningful cost containment.
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Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama prepared for his historic speech in Cairo, he faced a dual challenge–not only to redefine the troubled relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world, but also to clarify the place of democracy and human rights in his administration's foreign policy. Brookings expert William Galston previewed Obama’s major address.
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Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In nominating Sonia Sotomayor, the Obama administration must be more than satisfied with the early reaction from a political standpoint, writes William Galston. While Democrats are united and Hispanics are thrilled, those who oppose her must choose their words and tactics carefully so as not to antagonize further the nation’s fastest-growing demographic group.
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Wed, 27 May 2009 10:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 27, 2009, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
On May 27, the Brookings Institution hosted former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric S. Edelman for a discussion of the book, Presidential Command: Power, Leadership, and the Making of Foreign Policy from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush (Knopf), written by the late Peter W. Rodman, a Brookings senior fellow.
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Wed, 27 May 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 27, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
In this edition of the Scouting Report, Brookings expert Tamara Cofman Wittes and Politico senior editor Fred Barbash discussed the issues involved with the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and re-invigorating the Middle East peace process.
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Fri, 22 May 2009 10:40:59 GMT
As the national security debate continues, one question is whether the president has provided enough specifics for lawmakers to accede to his requests. There are no easy options for closing the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, according to Wittes; as commander in chief, Obama must weigh all risks to Americans.
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Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Last week, President Obama outlined his approach to closing the Guantánamo Bay detention center on the heels of Congress voting overwhelmingly to block the $80 million he requested to close the the prison. The speech was forward-looking, writes Brookings expert Ben Wittes, in that he maintained the need for a preventative detention system created by Congress and overseen by the courts.
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Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Armed with $19 billion dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama administration hopes to employ health information technology to improve medical treatment, cut costs by reducing errors and redundancies, and empower patients by giving them control over their own medical records. Not an easy task, warns Brookings expert Darrell West, since the federal government will need to address the financial, organization, and technological barriers limiting the utilization of health IT in the US.
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Wed, 20 May 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 20, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
In May, U.S. and Russian officials began meetings in Moscow to discuss cutting stockpiles of nuclear weapons. To assesses the considerations of both the United States and Russia and to offer suggestions for building a new framework to reduce strategic arsenals, Brookings expert Steven Pifer and Senior Politico Editor Fred Barbash took questions in this week’s edition of the Scouting Report.
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Sat, 16 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Michael Fullilove writes that President Obama has gotten off to a remarkably sure-footed start on foreign policy, while confusing both his foreign and domestic opponents. Fullilove examines and debunks the conservative arguments that have surfaced against Obama during his first months in office.
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Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Tamara Cofman Wittes writes that the selection of Egypt for President Obama’s long-awaited speech to the Muslim world was not an easy choice, but it is a significant one. Wittes believes Egypt is a crucible for the challenges facing many Muslim societies and it embodies Washington's central dilemmas in the wake of Bush's Freedom Agenda.
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Wed, 13 May 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 13, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
As soon as President Obama sent his detailed budget to Capitol Hill early May, political battles erupted over spending increases, proposed cuts and the increasing load of debt and deficits. Brookings expert Isabel Sawhill took questions on the hard budget choices and consequences with moderator Fred Barbash, Politico senior editor, in this edition of The Scouting Report.
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Sun, 03 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama considers his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, several supporters insist on getting more diversity on the bench. As Benjamin Wittes cautions, Democrats have less latitude for bucking these expectations in judicial nominations than Republicans do, as the conservative talent pool on the federal courts is larger and deeper than the liberal one.
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Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama took office with a sweeping agenda to restore America’s image and rebuild U.S. alliances to meet the common challenges of the 21st Century. As the new administration passes the 100 day milestone, the Managing Global Insecurity Project (MGI) assesses progress toward a new era of U.S. global leadership and compares the early actions of the Obama administration to the recommendations of MGI.
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Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 30, 2009, 10:00 AM to 12:45 PM
On April 30, the Brookings Institution hosted an event to discuss President Obama's performance during his first 100 days in office, on issues ranging from health care to the Middle East.
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Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama spends his 100th day in office, Michael O'Hanlon assesses the foreign policy maneuvers of the new U.S. administration. Partisan debates aside, O'Hanlon argues that Obama is off to a more solid start—in numerous regions of the world—than any of his recent predecessors.
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Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As our nation confronts an economic crisis of a severity unlike any since the Great Depression, much attention has been placed on President Obama’s first 100 days and the administration’s progress in combating these unprecedented challenges. Expert Darrell West tracks public opinion on Obama’s handling of the recovery effort for a new index, GovWatch.
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Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 29, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
President Barack Obama marked his first 100 days in office on April 29, a traditional day for pundits, politicians and the public to assess a new presidency. Politico senior editor John Anderson moderates a live chat with Brookings Vice President Darrell West marking President Obama's first 100 days in office. Politico senior editor John Anderson moderated a live chat with Brookings Vice President Darrell West marking President Obama's first 100 days in office.
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Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 28, 2009, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
On April 28, the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion to assess the scope and meaning of the Obama Administration's policies, to examine whether or not they are moving towards a model of European social democracy.
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Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Although his public support is high now, William Galston warns that the president might find himself politically weakened by next year if his economic and social programs do not show results soon. Budget deliberations in Congress over the next few months may be one defining factor.
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Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:18:51 GMT
Brookings presidential scholar Stephen Hess discusses the relevance of the 100-day benchmark moment to gauging a president's ability to fit the shoes and the office of his many notable predecessors. The comparisons, he notes, are not easy to make.
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Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Since taking the oath of office, President Barack Obama has faced a daunting set of immediate policy challenges and has had high expectations for significant changes in politics and policymaking. Nearing President Obama's first hundred days in office, Thomas Mann assesses his achievements and setbacks in a lecture given to the University of Melbourne Law School.
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Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 20, 2009, 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
On April 20, the Managing Global Insecurity Project at Brookings hosted Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Leslie H. Gelb for a discussion of his new book Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (Harper Collins, 2009).
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Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Although many commentators believe that President Obama will be forced, or at least well advised, to focus his agenda on the economy, President Obama has wagered his presidency on the proposition that the U.S. budget and political system can simultaneously absorb an economic stimulus, bail-outs of financial institutions, the housing sector and the automobile industry, and a social-democratic programme not seen since the days of Lyndon B. Johnson writes William Galston.
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Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:52:48 GMT
With stops in London for the G-20 Summit, France and Germany for NATO and additional visits to Turkey and Iraq, President Obama has completed his first major trip abroad as the nation’s leader. Darrell West examines the president’s overseas meetings and the impact they’ll have on his policies.
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Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Many argue that President Obama is biting off way more than he can chew, "overloading" the system and dealing with all sorts of "side issues," when he should be focusing solely on the broken economy. E.J. Dionne writes that Obama's biggest task will be restoring faith that what he had in mind is still possible.
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Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- March 18, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30
More than halfway through his first 100 days, President Barack Obama has already tackled a multitude of foreign and domestic policy challenges, from the economy to education to the military to healthcare to energy. Brookings expert Darrell West and Senior Politico Editor Fred Barbash examined the first sixty days of the Obama Administration in an online chat.
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Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Like Presidents Reagan and Carter, Obama has an ambitious agenda for the nation. But will President Obama be as successful in pushing his agenda as Reagan, or as unsuccessful as Carter? Surprisingly, a key indicator of success is not early economic performance. As Brookings expert William Galston writes, the core issue is clarity and self-discipline, to deal with only a relatively small number of issues at a time. Thus, President Obama needs to focus his considerable leadership and communication skills on the financial crisis.
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Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- March 04, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
President Barack Obama must master a crucial challenge facing all presidents: managing the relationships among his top advisers including his chief of staff, national security adviser, economic and domestic policy advisers, among others.
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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With an unflinching speech, President Obama went before Congress Tuesday night with ambitious plans to rebuild the weakening economy and achieve goals ranging from energy diversification and emission reductions to health care and education reform. William Galston writes that public reaction is likely to be favorable in the short term. But his bolds words may end up producing more doubt than hope if the president’s reach exceeds his grasp.
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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- February 25, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The stakes are high as President Obama makes his first address to a joint session of Congress, with the nation looking for leadership at a time of tremendous economic uncertainty. Brookings expert Bill Galston and Politico Senior Editor Fred Barbash conducted a live web chat to assess the impact of the speech.
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Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Federiga Bindi offers comments and personal observations from a European and Italian point of view on the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States and his inaugural address.
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Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Barack Obama starts his term with the highest approval rating of any recent new president. Expert Darrell West writes that President Obama can maintain his popularity, amid dismal economic news, with his oratorical skills, ability to keep people hopeful about the future, and use of new technologies for public outreach.
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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- January 21, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
On January 21, Brookings and Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a panel discussion on President Barack Obama's inaugural address, featuring observations from former presidential speechwriters and foreign policy analysts. The panelists examined the new president’s speech, analyzing its style and its implications for America’s relations with the world.
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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- January 21, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
On Wednesday, January 21, Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, offered his analysis of President Obama’s inaugural speech in Brookings’s weekly web chat with Politico.com. West also discussed the political situation facing the new president and answered questions from participants in a live chat.
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Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. In his first speech as president, Obama called for a return to the values of “restraint and humility” in foreign policy, boldly declared an end to the debate over the proper role of government, and instead pledged pragmatism on domestic issues—government that works. Expert Bill Galston assesses the inaugural address.
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Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Le Monde interviews Justin Vaisse on the departure of the Bush administration, the incoming Obama administration and President Obama's foreign policy vision and challenges.
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Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
A president's inaugural address provides the incoming U.S. leader with an opportunity to lay out his ideas, plans and governing approach before the American people and the world. Michael Fullilove presents lessons from history for President Obama and his speechwriters about the relationship between presidential language and the president's future policies.
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Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Bruce Katz and Rob Puentes argue that President-elect Obama must connect infrastructure spending to broad national goals such as creating new jobs, training a new work force and connecting people to work.
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Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Filled with symbol and ceremony, the whole world will be watching as never before. Stephen Hess discusses how former presidents have chosen music, poetry, representatives of the clergy and family bibles to set the scene.
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Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign used an array of online tools to organize supporters and raise money. Now, his administration will try applying the same tools to governing. Darrell West joined The Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss the future of e-government.
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Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Michael Fullilove explores the idea that the U.S. is in decline as a world power and what an Obama presidency may do to challenge the idea. Fullilove argues that the U.S. does face formidable challenges, but that most countries still look to America for leadership and answers.
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Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In this Issues in Governance Studies, Bruce Buchanan examines how Congress and the American people evaluate presidential wars of choice. When it comes to whether or not to use American military power, presidential discretion is virtually unchecked. Using the Korean War, Vietnam War and the current Iraqi operation as case models, Buchanan explores the presidential accountability for wars of choice and recommends the use of policy trials.
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Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Amy Liu and her colleagues argue that President-elect Obama must connect infrastructure spending to broad national goals such as creating new jobs, training a new work force and connecting people to work.
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Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In a Spiegel interview, US foreign policy expert Strobe Talbott discusses the daunting foreign policy challenges facing Obama, the next president's desire to turn Americans into global citizens and the prospects for reinvigorated trans-Atlantic relations.
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Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that in the first 100 days of his administration he would "travel to a major Islamic forum and deliver an address to redefine our struggle." Michael Fullilove suggests there is no better place than Indonesia.
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Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The Washington world is full of talented, accomplished people whose expertise in their fields is unquestioned – yet many fail as cabinet officers at the pinnacle of power. Stephen Hess advises the new president on where to look for cabinet talent.
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Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Even though the 1988 presidential transition featured a handover from a two-term president (Ronald Reagan) to his own vice president (George H.W. Bush), experts at Brookings recognized that even an intra-party transition between political allies suffered from a lack of communication between outgoing presidential aides and their counterparts in the new administration.
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Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
America cannot afford to retreat from the fight against global poverty in a world where remote challenges can rapidly metastasize into global threats. Instead the United States must demonstrate renewed leadership and showcase its national spirit by investing wisely through more effective global development cooperation.
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Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 10, 2008, 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
The fight against global poverty has become a fight for global security. But after an awkward entrance into the 21st century, America must redefine its role in the world, including its relations with developing countries. Colin Bradford offered a public memo to the president-elect with recommendations how to modernize U.S. aid efforts and address the global development challenges of the new century effectively and with accountability.
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Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The U.S. Congress has voted overwhelmingly to block the $80 million President Obama requested to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. On May 21, the president gave a national security address to discuss in greater detail his plan for closing Guantanamo. Brookings expert Ben Wittes offers a checklist of important decisions the president must make before he can shutter the detention camp.
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Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Will the soaring rhetoric of President-elect Obama's campaign speeches translate to the White House, where he has named 26-year-old wordsmith Jon Favreau to head his speechwriting staff? Former Eisenhower speechwriter and longtime presidential aide Stephen Hess discusses the role of the speechwriter in delivering the chief executive's vision to the people.
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Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:45:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 05, 2008, 8:45 AM to 4:30 PM
A new administration presents an ideal opportunity to reshape the nation’s tax code. Improving the equity, simplicity and efficiency of the tax system will help to better prepare taxpayers, businesses and the economy for the challenges that lay ahead. Brookings, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and Tax Analysts co-hosted a forum to explore timely policy recommendations for the incoming president and his transition team.
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Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 03, 2008, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The U.S. tax code is too complex, often supports misguided incentives, and raises inadequate revenue to support government spending. William Gale, vice president and director of Economic Studies, answered questions in a live web chat with Politico's Jeanne Cummings, chief lobbying and influence writer, about strengthening and improving our nation’s tax code.
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Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Martin Indyk and Richard Haass note that President-elect Obama will face a series of critical, complex, and interrelated challenges in the Middle East that will demand his immediate attention: an Iran apparently intent on approaching or crossing the nuclear threshold as quickly as possible; a fragile situation in Iraq that is straining the U.S. military; weak governments in Lebanon and Palestine under challenge from stronger Hezbollah and Hamas militant organizations; a faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process; and American influence diluted by a severely damaged reputation.
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Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Congress has punted to next year the prospects for a stimulus package with an infrastructure investment that could provide more jobs, a stronger transportation network and a better-running economy. Bruce Katz and William Gale say the clock stopped on legislative action, but President-elect Obama is directing his team to come up with an economic recovery plan that addresses critical infrastructure issues while creating more jobs and stimulating the economy.
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Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
President-elect Obama has chosen Phil Schiliro, a veteran of the Senate and House of Representatives, to be his liaison to Capitol Hill. Stephen Hess, author of What Do We Do Now?, says that Schiliro’s long congressional experience and low profile have been hallmarks of success for his predecessors.
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Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
When President-elect Jimmy Carter took office in the 1976-77 transition, he reached out to Brookings scholars for help on both domestic and foreign affairs, as well as advice on how to structure his White House staff.
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Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Many new presidents pick their campaign spokesperson to handle the White House press corps. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, as Stephen Hess advises in this installment of What Do We Do Now?.
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Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In this opinion piece published in the New Republic, Robert Puentes argues that President-elect Obama has a tremendous opportunity to connect infrastructure spending to broad national goals (such as economic competitiveness and environmental sustaianability). In this way the federal stimulus dollars can accelerate the right kind of projects in the right places, creating jobs and waking up related areas of the economy.
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Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In 1968, the nation was devastated by the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and a divisive three-way battle for the presidency raged. Brookings scholars trained their sights on solving contentious domestic issues.
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Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 12, 2008, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
President-elect Barack Obama now faces the daunting challenge of shaping a new administration. On November 12, William Galston moderated a discussion with David Lewis and Kathryn Dunn Tenpas to examine the basis on which presidents pick their political appointees and the impact of their choices on government performance.
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Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In this second installment of What Do We Do Now?, his new workbook for the president-elect, Stephen Hess advises the winner to start staffing the White House right away, from the chief of staff, counsel, press secretary and speech writers.
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Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The president-elect faces enormous challenges, but comes into office buoyed by an electorate hungry for change. Effective leadership, both at home and abroad, will require mobilizing grass-roots support and repositioning government as a solution rather than as a problem.
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Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 07, 2008, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Brookings held the first of 12 events to provide timely policy recommendations and advice to the incoming president and his transition team. Darrell West offered a public memo to the president-elect with advice on bringing a polarized electorate together, the first of 12 Brookings memos on the most crucial public policy priorities. He was joined by former White House chiefs of staff Ken Duberstein and Leon Panetta; Brooking Senior Fellow Stephen Hess; and other experts.