The Politics of Presidential Appointments

President-elect Barack Obama now faces the daunting challenge of shaping a new administration. On November 12, William Galston of the Brookings Institution moderated a discussion with David Lewis, author of The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance (Princeton University Press, 2008), and Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Kathryn Dunn Tenpas to examine the basis on which presidents pick their political appointees and the impact of their choices on government performance.

This event is part of the “Governing Ideas” series, which is intended to broaden the discussion of governance issues through forums on timely and relevant books on history, culture, legal norms and practices, values and religion.

After the program, the panelists took audience questions.