Organizing the Presidency

Stephen Hess is senior fellow emeritus in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., USA, and Distinguished Research Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, USA. He has been engaged in presidential transitions since he was a young speechwriter in the Eisenhower White House. He returned to the White House with President Richard Nixon, helped Jimmy Carter reorganize the Executive Office and advised the presidential transition teams of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. His numerous books include Through Their Eyes: Foreign Correspondents in the United States (Brookings, 2005). James P. Pfiffner is professor of public policy at George Mason University, Virginia, USA. He is the author or editor of ten books on the presidency and American government, including The Character Factor: How We Judge America's Presidents (Texas A& M University Press, 2004) and The Strategic Presidency: Hitting the Ground Running, second edition (University Press of Kansas, 1996). Pfiffner is an elected member of the National Academy of Public Administration and taught previously at the University of California, Riverside, and California State University, Fullerton, USA. A veteran of the 25th Infantry Division (1/8 Artillery), he received the Army Commendation of Medal for Valor in Vietnam and Cambodia in 1970.