PAST EVENT
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30
Washington, DC
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. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
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. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, February 12, 2009, NYU School of Law
Before a housing conference at the NYU School of law, and prior to the president’s executive order creating the office, Bruce Katz outlined his vision of the function and role of a White House Office of Urban Affairs. “The new office has a powerful bully pulpit to set a vision for how federal policy can unleash the potential of America’s urban and metropolitan areas given their changing role and function,” Katz told conferees. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Darrell M. West, January 22, 2009, The Huffington Post
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. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William A. Galston, January 20, 2009, The Brookings Institution
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. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ivo H. Daalder and I. M. Destler, December 22, 2008, Foreign Affairs
One of the most important figures in Obama's administration will be his national security adviser. Ivo Daalder and I.M. Destler examine previous national security advisers to use lessons from the past on how to do the job right or wrong. Read More
PAST EVENT
Thursday, December 18, 2008
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
How do you explain the president's position on Iraq or the economic downturn to a roomful of flashing cameras and open notebooks? On December 18, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino joined Stephen Hess to talk about the role of the White House spokesman. The discussion included Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry and Ron Nessen, press secretary during Ford's presidency. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ivo H. Daalder and Mac Destler , December 12, 2008, The American Interest
Ivo Daalder and Mac Destler give the next national security advisor (NSA) advice on how to manage a heavy workload and prioritize tasks that only the NSA is in position to perform. They argue that trust and confidence in colleagues, building cooperation and getting close to the president are all important aspects of the job. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Stephen Hess, December 12, 2008, The Brookings Institution
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. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
December 11, 2008, The Brookings Institution
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. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, December 05, 2008
9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Washington, DC
Since its inception, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has drawn unprecedented attention to the issue of social service partnerships between government and religious organizations. Brookings will release a report, Serving People in Need, Safeguarding Religious Freedom, which suggests ways the next president should approach the that office, including whether to keep the office open or how to restructure it. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Melissa Rogers, December 05, 2008, The Brookings Institution, Wake Forest University Divinity School’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs
Our nation has a long and productive history of government partnerships with religious and secular groups that serve people in need. President George W. Bush’s administration raised the visibility of these partnerships and introduced certain innovations into this system. E.J. Dionne and Melissa Rogers offer the incoming administration 16 recommendations on how to retain as well as reform these partnerships. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Stephen Hess, December 05, 2008, The Brookings Institution
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. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William J. Antholis and Bryan K. Mignone, December 02, 2008, Politico
Writing as the UN Conference on Climate Change occured in Poland, William Antholis and Bryan Mignone argued that over the past decade, the evidence for human-induced climate change has become one of the most widely accepted scientific findings of our time. They offer four recommendations for President Barack Obama to carry out a comprehensive and economically sensible approach to the issue. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Carlos Pascual, December 02, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Carlos Pascual writes that President-elect Obama’s choice of a national security team reflects seriousness, pragmatism and bipartisanship. Pascual believes the selections indicate Obama will take a twenty-first-century view toward national security: energy, power, economics, human rights, terrorism and poverty must be part of the agenda. Read More