|
|
|
2008 ARCHIVED NEWS NOTES. . The items on this page are from other parts of this site as they become archival. They are not indexed although generally are posted by the date they were originally written. We suggest you search the page with the "Find" or "Search" function on your browser. . . The President-Elect has selected governors for key positions - a reflection of the importance of strong administrative officers in the cabinet offices. All but one will be replaced by another Democrat, the other by a Republican Governor. The reactions of the various states involved are not clear. 12-05-08 Citizens across the US are looking into Executive Appointments with the new Administration. While we are always ready to visit with anybody on the phone or by email, but we also suggest you look at the site pages dealing with preparing yourself for an appointment. It easily takes time to get ready for an appointment - so now is the time to start. 11-1-08 Burrowing In: The Bush Administration is turning political pals into civil servants in the federal government. This process is called "burrowing in" - sort of like a little beast like the forest tick burrowing into your hide to poison your body. Buddy political appointees are converted to civil service jobs so they are tough to fire -- keeping a job for life and installing party politicos and their policies into the government. Details are in a copyrighted Washington Post Article today. 12-05-08 Science: Scientists across the country have joined in a letter (see Letter) to both Presidential candidates asking for a close in and powerful appointee - even a cabinet department - to coordinate science advice to the new Presidential Administration. After eight years of direct conflict with the Bush Administration and the religious right which intentionally skewed, even edited out, scientific fact from government reports, the science world is seeking a a change. A NASA public relations employee was finally fired for refusing to publish any scientific report from NASA which referred to data older than the 6000 year "creation date" which is policy in some churches. An issue is that other departments try hard to control science appointments internally in a power struggle with the White House, arguing their control of appointments is critically to good management. Science Page 11-03-08 2008 - Next Administration Appointments: As candidates emerge for the 2008 Presidential election and a new President and administration - new people interested in Presidential appointments are positioning themselves. It is a safe bet that the itch to serve the next President is well developed in thousands of Americans - it is the nature of the political beast - and they are all looking for appointments. How that itch is organized and managed for the next two years will determine who receives appointments - take a look at 2008 Appointments to consider the perspective and advice of this site. Jobs in the Congress: - With the Democratic Party in the majority in both houses - there will be important staffing issues - not only do they need more people with expertise in essentially every government field, but they know the 2008 elections are wide open, and they have the feel, and the itch, of power in the offing. That boils down to opportunities for those with a bent to work with the Democratic Party - now. Staffing up a new administration is a huge task, and two years is important in that run up - if a Hill office has a suggestion for a new President - that is Power. Obviously one access to Executive Appointments is through the Congress - and it will be the presently elected Congress that advises the new President in 2008 - regardless of Party. (2/24/07) Jobs in the Presidential Campaigns: With the Presidential candidates getting into the fight early - there have to be both paid and volunteer jobs in each of the campaigns. The front runners in both parties tend to get the more experienced expert and lead staffers - but those pro staffers are usually not particularly well qualified in the substantive fields of government - and that is where you may find your spot. These situations are open at all levels of candidacy, and in all regions. There are surely several thousand candidates around the country who will have some sort of influence in ultimate Presidential appointments for either of the major Parties. Access to full Executive Appointments comes from all directions - all levels, and from all sorts of influences. However, now is the time to start sorting it out if you are going to be a successful appointee in 2008. (3/24/07) Federal Requests for Nominations: This page lists open appointments where nominations and applications are due at this time. There are actual jobs and positions across the government. The instructions to apply, or to recommend someone by nomination, are clearly set out with each separate federal announcement on this page. This information provides the persons to contact and the way to make applications, as well as the duties of the positions, the terms of the appointments, and other important details. This material is updated every business day, and reflects government postings for the prior business day. The page has instructions for use of the page. If you need free advice or help in finding information, or using this site, call 617 504 3699, or e-mail Director@Presidential-Appointments.org Economy Watch: As the economy is getting more nervous - by the day - nobody mentions the outrageous debt incurred by the Bush Administration with fat cat tax breaks and heavy war debt. What is astonishing is that the economy is so strong that it has absorbed all that without significant inflation and recession along the way. The Clinton campaign clearly has the economy as its focus, again. If nominated, she will remind voters by the hour about another Bush recession and weak economy. The GOP candidate will have to swallow it, or have a tall explanation about how to deal with another economic struggle. A war-time economy is hard to kill but the economy team of Presidential nominees will have a tough ride after November 2008 picks a new man for the White House. September 8 2007 Pouty President: President Bush has adopted a strategy of shoving the Congress, exhibiting an angry and petulant attitude which reflects his lack of skill in putting together consensus leadership. In purely human terms, this style does not work in the day-in, day-out business of governing. In terms of political appointments, it is effectively shutting down both the confirmation process and confidence in his lame-duck status which will bring people into the government via the appointment process. The Democratic Senate is applying the "Gotcha Game" to pending appointments to apply pressure to the White House on priority legislation Defense Secretary Gates and Secretary of State Rice have established a joint policy which is quickly deepening the diplomatic initiative in Iraq and Iran while smoothing out US relationships worldwide. Further, Gates, in spite of a catastrophic war on his hands, is regaining control of the military strategy from the White House, and from Cheney and Bush in particular. This is situation where the unusual coalition of State and Defense is applying a more common sense approach. Power is often finessed out from under a President and his close advisors when the White House becomes irrational, as at the end of the Nixon Presidency, or when the President cannot escape from an unsuccessful array of policy and attitude, as in the Bush White House. Right or wrong, that phenomenon is occurring at this stage of the Bush Presidency. Presidential appointees usually accept positions at least in part because of the respect and status that brings. Serious blunders in an Administration, such as the weird in-house press conference staged by FEMA this week tends to scare off potential nominees who may be spooked by the Lame Duck problem. Open positions - important positions - such as on the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission put the Nation at risk and suggest either a firm lack of commitment to fill appointments, or an inability to convince people to take the risk of serving in a decidedly unpopular Presidency. 10 28 007 Consumer Products Safety Commission - 1-28-08 We are seeing the real dangers of GOP policy limiting consumer based safety by Bush Administration and GOP Congresses since 2000 Shutting Down at Work: The general patronage crew appointed by the Bush administration is headed home. Many will hang around on the possibility of another GOP administration in 2009 - that means up to 16 years in office with another pair of GOP terms. They also know that it will take a new Democratic administration the better part of 2009 to replace most GOP incumbent employees. 2-13-08 Secretary of Agriculture is confirmed - 2 2 08. The confirmation was without objection and is important to stymied farm bill can be negotiated with White House. New Appointments 2-27-08 Both McCain and Obama are now drawing up campaign staffs for the General Election - and hundreds of politicians and other power brokers are busy giving away the thousands of patronage positions which will go the winning candidate for President in November 2008. Muscling the Military:The President's absolutely incapacity to listen to any opinion other than his own has again undermined the military role in the Iraq-Iran setting. He forgets that he builds his policy on military opinions, he cannot be surprised that negative opinions will occur - too. So he fired Admiral Fallon when he disagreed. The Pres always has to make his own decisions - not put some junior person - like a four star officer or a navy admiral on the spot. 3-13-08 White House Torture Sport: Two Presidential Appointees, including Harriett Meir - have told the Congress to stuff their subpoenas - the Congress asked the Attorney General to prosecute their contempt citations - with the same response. The Congress will file civil prosecutions to try to get materials and testimony. Flat out contempt for the Constitution. 4-12-08 The Inspector General Program: In 1978 the Congress created the Inspector General program across the Federal system. Now more than five dozen agencies have Inspector General operations. Check out this new part of the side at Inspector's General in the United States. 5-7-08 Governor Palin: Governor Palin ducked the issues related to Judge appointments while Senator Biden made it clear that Judicial policy is a key subject for confirmation. She has shown no understanding of the Judicial issues, and may well have been ducking the rights of women in the debate. She talked about women's rights positively - but does not include reproductive rights as one of those. Judicial appointments are clearly a major issue, at least for the conservative side. Obama policy is clear opposite and would make appointments to the Judicial Bench which are rights oriented. 10-3-08 Next Treasury Secretary: Today's general economic worldwide is again bringing the Council of Economic Advisors and the Secretary of the Treasury appointments of the next President into primary focus. The Obama campaign is cautiously mentioning the money minds which influence its candidate, and the McCain organization is trying live down John's communication with de-regulators. Obama is following the FDR model of looking forward to January 20th and avoiding trying to influence current money issues. Not having a long legislative history of economic issue mistakes is helping him. 10-6-08 Romney on Judges: Throughout the long Presidential primaries and general campaign for 2008, Supreme Court Judge appointments have been a important issue with a real impact on voter decisions. Mitt Romney - campaigning on behalf of the McCain ticket - reminded an audience in Elko, Nevada, that John McCain would make judicial nominations along the lines of the Bush Samuel Alito and John Roberts appointments. 10-4-08 Since the election we have received a number of calls from people frustrated with the search for positions that may be open in the next few months. The reality is that many positions are clearly identified - the "Plum Book" and other sites like those provide some information. Searching within the large departments - on the internet and through individuals in the departments - and inquiries through present officials and elected members of the Senate and House take the search a long way. The process in indeed frustrating at some times - but that is the way it is - and it is difficult to make it easier. It is in the nature of the patronage process at the present time. .. .. Bush Administration appointments: There are scheduled appointments coming up regularly. These will, of course, be made by the Bush Administration through noon on January 20, 2009. (You can rely on several dozen being made the morning of the inauguration, along with last minute pardons, regardless of who wins in November 2008.) New temporary commissions and committees will be appointed, funded, and serve particular goals of the administration. These usually retire by the end of an administration. Term appointments - those for a certain length of time - will be appointed and continue into the next administration until the term involved ends. As Presidencies move toward ending - Presidential appointees often move on - usually in the private sector - sometimes to run for office - many just go home and many are worn out. Often - appointees look for situations to be folded into the civil service. Administrations like that of course - because is keeps people of their own policy in government - although sharp policy commitments tend to disappear as the job is permanent - sort of the same problem the Presidents have with court appointees - they get out of policy control when they are not beholden to the party or the White House. There is an opportunity for those willing to risk holding a job for only two or three years until the end of the current Presidential term - and perhaps into the next term. It takes a few months or even a year or two for new administrations to fill many jobs - whether of the same part or an opposition party. The result is that an appointment made in the next year can easily be a very productive and exciting experience - but perhaps limited to two or three years maximum. Most people seeking appointments are focused on a particular job or at least a particular area of work. Most have an idea where they would like to work. From this point on in the appointment process works the same as the appointments at the start of a term. However - the wear and tear on the White House appointments people is much less now - less appointments to be made - the staff is more experienced in the process - make decisions quicker in many cases - so things can happen quicker. October 28 2007 Belly-Up Presidential Candidates: The number of Presidential Candidates has begun to slim - at least two have gone Belly-Up on money and support. If you happen to end up supporting one of the candidates who have failed, or will fail, move your preparation for an appointment to a candidate still in the fight. You have some power in that move because you will bring a certain amount of your own constituency to the new candidate - that is important in the business of assembling power. Don't assume that because you stood behind a particular candidate that you are weak - exactly the opposite is true! February 24 2007 In less than eight months the new President will select a new cabinet and at least 20,000 new political appointments. The transition to a new government is already in process. Immediately after the election presidential transition will become a formal operation in Washington DC to facilitate the new government that takes office on January 20 2009. About 2,500 of these appointments will require confirmation by the United States Senate. The transition will take at least a year to complete and there may still be candidates from the present administration in office as late as eighteen months after the new administration takes office. Presidential appointments will can begin the tracking of the transition process as of May 1, 2008. You will see evidence of this process from now through most of 2009. Most pages will be modified as the policies of the new administration impact the way the next government will operate. (Please review the comments in the center column below.) (4-26-08) January 29 2008: The Kennedy Family that was left behind is attempting to use a fine family and political tradition to influence a Presidential election. Invoking that history is important to a candidate - but almost nobody under 60 has any remembrance of that era. Clearly - it has an impact. But it also releases the Clintons, particularly Bill Clinton, who owns the practical day to day politics of Democratic Party to enforce the rules of counting votes, to apply the political power they have to the party mechanism, and that is where the real power of the Party is located. Comment The President and the Senate are engaged in a squabble that prevents strategic and important positions from being filled in departments where - without appointees - government in that area ceases functioning. There is little hope that these nominations and confirmations will be made until a new President assumes office on January 20 2009. What is happening is that the White House either nominates people who the Senate will not confirm, or the President will not appoint Democrats to positions which, by agreement, must be filled by Democrats. We - as citizens - can expect better service from the President and from those in the Senate, both Republican and Democrat who refuse to compromise on confirming nominees. 2-25-08 Patronage - executive appointments - have long plagued government at all levels with a substantial lack of loyalty to any cause but the Executive and his cause. The United States has been no exception. In recent years patronage has been a more blatant political weapon than before World War II. In 2009 there is another of the periodic restarts of the federal government which a new President, and perhaps a new political party. With that change, there will be a major change of personnel at the patronage level. The quality of those filling the positions is a matter of real importance to the People and the Nation. 2-9-08 White House - Senate Battle on Recess appointments on Recess page: Important application of "Checks and Balances" Constitutional policy at work! 11 19 07 There is chat about "Shadow Cabinets" and "Shadow Governments" in the news. The reality is that with long campaign periods - probably close to eleven months this time - that many appointments, a few of the top ones and many of the lesser thousands of them will be well defined by the time the Presidential Transition begins on November 5th 2008. It is unlawful to actually promise appointee positions until a candidate is elected. In practice, inference, suggestion, implication, and without question - illegal promises - are used to encourage people to support one candidate or another. This means that selecting a job or seek or an area of government to work in if a particular candidate is elected is good planning. Obviously - you should not violate the law and try to get a commitment to any job, but you should prepared yourself politically to be appointed should an elected candidate or that candidate's representative ask for your services later. There are suggestions throughout this site about how to prepare yourself for such a situation. 10 28 07 Check on the Department and Agency sites we are adding to the front page - these have a number of sources of appointments, and for that matter - jobs in general in the government. We are researching these sites in an attempt to get a better handle on what appointments are available. There is not much doubt that many appointments are a pure insider's game until they are made - getting past that obfuscation by the political folk is a tough task - one which we will continue to help our users accomplish. October 28 2007 NASA Appointments: Recent Bush appointees have faced some struggle in their appointments, including resignations. A new link at NASA Appointments provides helpful information about those appointments and how NASA works with them. This is a helpful resource if you are considering positions there. (2-20-06) .. ..
Contact: Director@Presidential-Appointments.org Copyright 2002 - 2010 John Isaacson |
