
Before the Oath
How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power
Martha Joynt Kumar(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 25. August 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-4214-1659-5 (ISBN)
Description
It's one of the hallmarks of American democracy: on inauguration day, the departing president heeds the will of the people and hands the keys to power to a successor. The transition from one administration to the next sounds simple, even ceremonial. But in 2009, as President George W. Bush briefed President-elect Barack Obama about the ongoing wars and plummeting economy he'd soon inherit, the Bush team revealed that they were grappling with a late-breaking threat to the presidency: U.S. intelligence sources believed that a terror group with links to Al Qaeda planned to attack the National Mall during the inaugural festivities. Although this violence never materialized, its possibility made it clear that well-laid contingency plans were essential. Political scientist Martha Joynt Kumar uncovered this secret peril while interviewing senior Bush and Obama advisers for her latest book. In Before the Oath, Kumar documents how two presidential teams - one outgoing, the other incoming - must forge trusting alliances in order to help the new president succeed in his or her first term.
Kumar enjoyed unprecedented access to several incumbent and candidate transition team members, and she combines in-depth scholarship with one-on-one interviews to put readers squarely behind the scenes. Using the Bush-Obama handoff as a lens through which to examine the presidential transition process, Kumar interweaves examples from previous administrations as far back as Truman-Eisenhower. Her subjects describe in vivid detail the challenges of sowing campaign ideals across a sprawling executive branch as Congress, the media, and external events press in. Kumar's lively account of lessons learned and pitfalls encountered during past presidential transitions provides an essential road map for presidential aspirants and their advisers, as well as campaign workers, federal employees, and political appointees.
Kumar enjoyed unprecedented access to several incumbent and candidate transition team members, and she combines in-depth scholarship with one-on-one interviews to put readers squarely behind the scenes. Using the Bush-Obama handoff as a lens through which to examine the presidential transition process, Kumar interweaves examples from previous administrations as far back as Truman-Eisenhower. Her subjects describe in vivid detail the challenges of sowing campaign ideals across a sprawling executive branch as Congress, the media, and external events press in. Kumar's lively account of lessons learned and pitfalls encountered during past presidential transitions provides an essential road map for presidential aspirants and their advisers, as well as campaign workers, federal employees, and political appointees.
Reviews / Votes
Highly recommended. All readership levels. k This book is highly recommended for the valuable data and the dissusions regarding the preperation and fulfillment of this important change of national management. M. G. ParegianMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
465 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4214-1659-5 (9781421416595)
DOI
10.1353/book.40581
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2015
Johns Hopkins University Press
€29.99
Available for download
Person
Martha Joynt Kumar is a professor of political science at Towson University. She is the author of Managing the President's Message: The White House Communications Operation, winner of the American Political Science Association's 2008 Richard E. Neustadt Best Book Award, and the coauthor of Portraying the President: The White House and the News Media
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. A Time of Opportunity and Hazard
2. Transition Foundations
3. The Transition Out of Office
4. Coming into the Presidency
5. Transition Plans and Campaign Promises
6. The National Security Council Transition
7. Presidential Appointments
8. The 2008 Transition
Glossary of People, Terms, and Institutions
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Introduction
1. A Time of Opportunity and Hazard
2. Transition Foundations
3. The Transition Out of Office
4. Coming into the Presidency
5. Transition Plans and Campaign Promises
6. The National Security Council Transition
7. Presidential Appointments
8. The 2008 Transition
Glossary of People, Terms, and Institutions
Notes
Works Cited
Index