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QUALIFICATION ISSUES
A variety of views about the process are express in books, publications, certainly not either complete nor my view, necessarily.

Types of Qualifications:

STATUTORY QUALIFICATIONS:  Some positions established by federal law have specific qualifications.  For example, federal judges must be licensed lawyers in good standing, and the Surgeon General of the United States must be a medical doctor in good standing.  Many  positions have formal legal requirements set out by law.  The source for these required qualifications is in the federal statutes which create the positions.

• QUALIFICATION BY GENDER:  There aren't many government positions where gender is a qualification.  In most cases, gender is not even allowed to be considered, and it is the basis of legal action under the federal civil rights laws to use gender as a qualification.  However, an example of an exception is that each political party must select a National Committeeman and a National Committeewoman from each State.  There are a few of those exceptions around - not many anymore.

• NATIONALITY OR CITIZENSHIP:  Generally, appointees must be citizens of the United States.  There are exceptions defined in the documents which create the positions.  Voter registration is usually not a qualification. .

• QUALIFICATION BY POLITICAL PARTY:   There are few, if any, individual appointments of the President where a particular party qualification is established by the law creating the appointment.  Some statutory requirements and a lot of practical good political sense, often result in a substantial balance of identified members of each political party and some independents on committee or group appointments.  Usually the party of the President has some level of voting dominance on commission or group appointments if there is to be any voting.  Group appointments occur without such balance, but they are more often than not ceremonial in nature.  Sometimes groups are balanced with equal numbers of Senators, or Representatives, or Governors, or members of other groups, and almost without exception, there is equal party representation.  Groups that result from individual appointments, such as a meeting of the 12 Regional Directors of the Small Business Administration, all direct appointments of the President, do not have that sort of balance when they meet together as a committee of Regional Directors.  You can bet the Party of the President dominates any group where important issues are to be the subject of votes of the group on policy.

Suggested Approach to an Application for Appointment

Be careful to understand just exactly what the actual qualifications are for a particular position that interests you. Many of those cannot be ignored or changed.

Get your application together, and support it with a very strong resume, well and completely prepared.

Remember - there is a reason these are called political appointments - they are controlled by the political party that holds the power of the Presidency at a given time - whatever these positions have to do with governing - they are designed to represent the power and authority of the politicians - particularly the President - in office.

It is also true that the White House and President government have serious difficulty finding strong candidates for political positions.

Legal Qualifications:

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:  Many positions require that the appointee have a particular position.  Some commissions or committees, and many positions, require that the appointment be a governor, or a senator, or a preacher, President of the National YWCA,  conductor of a symphony orchestra, or a teacher.  You can imagine the sorts of positions - they are almost infinite - which might be required as a qualification.  The source for this sort of qualification is in the federal statute, Executive Order, or other document which creates the position.  This source is available in places like federal law, the Federal Register, or in the records of  particular agencies or departments establishing the position.

• REGIONAL OR GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS:  Executive appointments are governed in part by subject matter, and in large part by political impact.  An appointment which deals with, say sheep, or maybe garbage disposal for eastern seaboard cities, or some other highly specific issue related in some part to geography will draw appointments related in part to the geography involved.  As usual, regional balance is always considered in terms of political impact when appointments of any sort are made.  It is almost an absolute certainty that political impact of the region where the potential appointee comes from will be fed into the decision maker's judgment.

• PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS:  Many appointments are tied directly to personal talents and qualifications of potential appointees.  A member of the Council of Economic Advisors to the President will surely have solid academic qualifications in economics, and a solid public record showing a personal position on various economic theories.  A commission on the threat of a volcano will include a vulcanologist and geologists.  Day-to-day experience in the field of the appointment is usually important as well.  In some cases, it is also possible for someone the President happens to like or want on an appointment list will also succeed.  That seems like a bad idea on its face, and often is, but there are many startling exceptions where closeness to the President makes the project work.  In is in these situations where the mystery of the patronage process, its vagueness and improbabilities make up for openness and lack of definition which infuriate those demanding clarity and certainty.  Many more than one appointment has frustrated all of us and in the end was a good idea for absolutely the wrong logical reasons, but for the right human reasons.  Only those inexperienced in the use of power ultimately challenge this concept.  

Copyright 2001-2011 John Isaacson --Contact Information: John Isaacson, Director@Presidential-Appointments.org - Call: 617 504 3699