November 7, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Massella
(202) 994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?" - ADVICE FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA ON SELECTING WHITE HOUSE AND CABINET STAFF
NOV. 11 AND 13, 2008

EVENT: 

U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama has only 77 days to set up his administration.  Stephen Hess, GW distinguished research professor of media and public affairs and senior fellow emeritus in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, will lead a series of briefings focused on the U.S. presidential transition, modeled after his book, What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-Elect.  Frank Sesno, director of The George Washington University's Public Affairs Project and CNN special correspondent, will moderate the Nov. 11 discussion in selecting The White House staff and the Nov. 13 discussion of Cabinet secretaries.
 
WHEN AND WHERE:

Part 1 - The White House: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008; 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st St., NW, Washington, D.C.
 
PANELISTS:

• Alice M. Rivlin, senior fellow of metropolitan policy program and economic studies director of Greater Washington research, Brookings Institution; former director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and chairman of the center for legal and judicial studies, The Heritage Foundation; former counselor to President Ronald Reagan
• William A. Galston, senior fellow of governance studies and the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies, Brookings Institution; former domestic affairs adviser to President Bill Clinton
• Robert Nash, former director of the White House Personnel Office to President Clinton

Part 2 - The Cabinet: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008; 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st St., NW, Washington, D.C.

PANELISTS:

• Anne Veneman, executive director, UNICEF; former secretary of agriculture to President George W. Bush
• William Emerson "Bill" Brock III, former secretary of labor to President Reagan
• Barbara Hackman Franklin, former secretary of commerce to President George H. W. Bush

RSVP:  

These events are free and open to the public.  For tickets, send your first and last name, number of tickets being requested, and the date of the program you would like to attend to jmaevent@gwu.edu. 

MEDIA:  

Media can RSVP to Nick Massella at (202) 994-3087 or massella@gwu.edu.
 
BACKGROUND:  

Parts three through five of the series will continue in December and January.  Upcoming topics will include media relations, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008; Congressional relations, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009; and speechwriting and the Inaugural address, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009.

What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-Elect (Brookings Institution Press, 2008) provides savvy political tips on how the new president can avoid political pitfalls during the transition, buttressed by well-chosen historical examples of what to do and what not to do in those critical few weeks between the election and the president's inauguration.  Hess writes from a personal perspective as a White House veteran.  He debuted as a speechwriter in the Eisenhower White House and has participated in every presidential transition for almost a half century.  Hess is the author of Organizing the Presidency and The Little Book of Campaign Etiquette and co-authored Drawn & Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons with Sandy Northrop.

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