Class details Presidents, Congress, and the Transition to Power (UPADM-GP 9221)

M-F 9:30-12:00

Location to be confirmed.

Instructor Paul C. Light Details Robert F. Wagner School of Government New York University [email protected]

Prerequisites Introduction to American Government preferred but not required

Class This course will explore the transition into office during January 2013. It will focus specifically Description on the presidential transition, but will also examine changes in Congress as new members arrive and are defeated or retiring members leave. The course will focus on the transition process from beginning to end. Although the process will begin immediately after election day, it will reach a crescendo in early January as the president makes appointments to key posts, sets the agenda, builds his Inaugural Address, and lays claim to a mandate for his first 100 days.

The course will feature extensive readings on the transition process, including its political context, the role of the president elect, the impact of his leadership on his place in history, and the effort to shape the course of history over the coming term. The course will also include visits from Washington insiders, including members of Congress, top presidential appointees, lobbyists, journalists, scholars, and other opinion-leaders. The course will cover all aspects of the transition, including discussions of specific issues facing the nation, and the brief honeymoon that the new president will enjoy.

It will also include visits to Capitol Hill, the Executive Office of the President, K Street firms, trade associations, and think tanks, including the following tentative individuals and destinations:

 The White House, Office of Management and Budget, transition office, and Executive Office of the president with possible speakers such as White House Chief of Staff and former senior NYU administrator Jack Lew, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients, and White House advisor Valerie Jarrett.  Several key departments of government, including the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Department of Energy, and high-level officials in the secretary’s offices and policy units such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Page 1 of 10

 Top congressional advisory offices, including the Government Accountability Office and its Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the Congressional Research Service, and the Congressional Budget Office.  Top Senate and House committees and current and former members such as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the House and Senate Budget Committees, and key members such as Sens. Mark Warner and Claire McCaskill, and Reps. Henry Waxman and Darrell Issa, as well as key staff members.  Lobbying firms such as Duberstein and Associates and top executives and former Washington insiders such as Ken Duberstein and Mike Berman.  Polling firms such as Princeton Survey Research Associates and the Pew Research Center, and their top scholars such as Scott Keeter and Mary McIntosh, as well as Democratic and Republican pollsters such as Celinda Lake.  Think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, and Heritage Foundation, and top scholars at each such as Tom Mann, Norman Ornstein, and former White House chief of staff John Podesta.  Public Interest Groups such as the Project on Government Oversight and its president Danielle Bryan.  Past transition planners such as former White House chief of staff Mac McClarty (Clinton), Brent Scowcroft (Reagan), and Clay Johnson (George W. Bush).

Students will also visit a number of key institutions involved in transitions and American presidential history, including the House and Senate, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Natural History, Newseum, and the National Archives.

For example, students will spend time at the Newseum’s special exhibit “Every Four Years” (visit http://www.newseum.org/exhibits-and-theaters/temporary-exhibits/every-four- years/index.html for an introduction), the National Portrait Gallery’s special exhibit “A Nation Emerges” (http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/1812/), and the Museum of American History’s exhibit on “The American Presidency: A glorious burden (http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=87).

Students are expected to attend all class meetings, complete readings on time for discussion, and complete a 20-page (5,000 words) research paper on a specific aspect of the transition. Students will be given a list of possible topics, but may propose others. The research project will examine the history of the topic, explore the 2013 reality, and form recommendations for improving transitions in the future. These recommendations will be presented to key policymakers at the end of the course.

Desired There are five learning objectives for this course: (1) understand the basic framework of Outcomes presidential transitions into office, be it into a first or second term, (2) analyze the role that presidential and congressional relations affect a president’s agenda, (3) analyze the role of presidential characteristics on governing, (4) examine recent changes in the political process that affect presidential and congressional relations today, and (5) use critical thinking skills to analyze a specific challenge facing the next president.

Page 2 of 10

Assessment Participation (10%) Components Mid-term Exam (20%)

Twenty-page Research Paper (50%)

Final Exam (30%)

Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component results in failure of the class.

Assessment Grade A: The student makes excellent use of empirical and theoretical material and offers Expectations well-structured arguments in his/her work. The student writes comprehensive essays / exam questions and his/her work shows strong evidence of critical thought and extensive reading.

Grade B: The candidate shows a good understanding of the problem and has demonstrated the ability to formulate and execute a coherent research strategy.

Grade C: The work is acceptable and shows a basic grasp of the research problem. However, the work fails to organize findings coherently and is in need of improvement.

Grade D: The work passes because some relevant points are made. However, there may be a problem of poor definition, lack of critical awareness, poor research.

Grade F: The work shows that the research problem is not understood; there is little or no critical awareness and the research is clearly negligible.

Grade NYU Washington, DC uses the following scale of numerical equivalents to letter grades: conversion 100-94 A 76-74 C 93-90 A- 73-70 C- 89-87 B+ 69-67 D+ 86-84 B 65-66 D 83-80 B- below 65 F 79-77 C+

Attendance NYU Washington, DC has a strict policy about course attendance. No unexcused absences are Policy permitted. All medical-based absence requests MUST be presented by the student to the Program Manager for Student Life (Candice Clawson) before or during the class that is missed. Candice can help arrange doctor's appointments. In case of a longer-lasting illness, medical documentation must be provided. All non-medical absence requests must be presented by the student to the Program Manager for Academic Affairs (Lauren Sinclair). Non-medical requests should be made in advance of the intended absence.

Each unexcused absence from class or external events, meetings, and tours will be penalized by deducting 1% from the student’s final course mark. Unexcused absences from exams are

Page 3 of 10

not permitted and will result in failure of the exam. If you are granted an excused absence from examination (with authorization, as above), your instructor will decide how you will make up the assessment component, if at all (by make-up examination, extra coursework, or an increased weighting on an alternate assessment component, etc.).

NYU Washington, DC expects students to arrive to class promptly (both at the beginning and after any breaks), to be attentive, and to remain for the duration of the class. If full class attendance becomes a problem, it is the prerogative of each instructor to deduct from the final grade for late arrival and early departure. Being more than 10 minutes late counts as an unexcused absence.

Please note that for classes involving a field trip or other external visit, transportation difficulties are never grounds for an excused absence. It is the student’s responsibility to arrive at the announced meeting point in a punctual and timely fashion. Staff members may always be reached by cell phone for advice regarding public transportation.

Late (1) Written work due in class must be submitted during the class time to the professor. Submission of

Work (2) Late work should be submitted in person to the instructor or to the Program Manager for

Academic Affairs (Lauren Sinclair), who will write on the essay or other work the date and

time of submission, in the presence of the student. Work cannot be left for Lauren under the

door or on her desk, in her absence. If Lauren is not in her office, another member of the

administrative staff can accept the work and write the date and time of submission on the

work, again only in the physical presence of the student.

(3) Work submitted within 5 weekdays after the submission time without an agreed

extension receives a penalty of 10 points on the 100 point scale

(4) Without an approved extension, written work submitted more than 5 weekdays following

the session date fails and is given a zero.

(5) Please note: end of semester essays must be submitted on time.

(6) If for whatever reason you feel you cannot submit any written work in time, you should

discuss this with Lauren.

(7) Students who are late for a written exam have no automatic right to take extra time or to

write the exam on another day.

Students with Accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Disabilities Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or see their website (http://www.nyu.edu/life/safety-health-andwellness/students-with-disabilities.html) for further information.

Plagiarism Policy The presentation of another person’s words, ideas, judgment, images or data as though they

Page 4 of 10

were your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes an act of plagiarism.

NYU Washington, DC takes plagiarism very seriously; penalties follow and may exceed those set out by your home school. All your written work must be submitted as a hard copy AND in electronic form to the instructor. Your instructor may ask you to sign a declaration of authorship form.

It is also an offense to submit work for assignments from two different courses that is substantially the same (be it oral presentations or written work). If there is an overlap of the subject of your assignment with one that you produced for another course (either in the current or any previous semester), you MUST inform your professor.

For guidelines on academic honesty, clarification of the definition of plagiarism, examples of procedures and sanctions, and resources to support proper citation, please see: http://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and- guidelines/academic-integrity-for-students-at-nyu.html http://gls.nyu.edu/page/gls.academicintegrity http://cas.nyu.edu/page/academicintegrity http://nyu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=123054&sid=1057581

Required Fred I. Greenstein, The Presidential Difference: Leadership Styles from FDR to Barack Obama Text(s) (Princeton University Press, third edition, ISBN 978-0-691-14383-6)

Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, It’s Even Worse than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism _Basic Books, Hardcover ISBN 978-0-465-03133-7, Electronic ISBN 978-0-465-03136-8)

Internet All internet research sources must be cited with web site and date of access. Research Guidelines

Session 1 MANDATORY STUDENT ORIENTATION

Monday, January 7

Session 2 INTRODUCTION

Tuesday, Russell L. Riley, “The White House as a Black Box: Oral History and the Problem of Evidence in January 8 Presidential Studies,” Political Studies, 2009, on NYU Classes

Forrest Maltzman, et al., “Unleashing Presidential Power: The Politics of Pets in the White House,” PS, July 2012, on NYU CLASSES

Session 3 THE TRANSITION CHALLENGE

Page 5 of 10

Wednesday Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, “Pre-Election January 9 Presidential Transition Act of 2010,” Report to Accompany S. 3196, on NYU CLASSES

Martha Joynt Kumar, et al., “Meeting the Freight Train Head On: Planning for the Transition to Power,” White House 2001 Project, Report No. 2, August 2000, on NYU CLASSES

James P. Pfiffner, “Decision Making in the Obama White House,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Session 4 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS

Thursday Paul C. Light, A Government Ill Executed: The Decline of Public Service and How to Reverse It, January 10 Introduction, Chapters 2-3, on NYU CLASSES

Anne Joseph O’Connell, “Vacant Offices: Delays in Staffing Top Agency Positions,” Southern California Law Review, 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Maryanne Borrelli, “Gender Desegregation and Gender Integration in the President’s Cabinet, 1933-2010,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, December, 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Try to fill out U.S. Standard Form 86, “Questionnaire for National Security Positions,” and Obama Administration Appointee Questionnaire, both on NYU CLASSES

Session 5 RECENT HISTORY AND DANGERS

Friday January Rebecca R. Friedman, “Crisis Management at the Dead Center: The 1960-1961 Presidential 11 Transition and the Bay of Pigs Fiasco,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Richard Holtzman, “What’s the Problem, Mr. President? Bush’s Shifting Definitions of the 2008 Financial Crisis,” International Social Science Review, on NYU CLASSES

Martha Joynt Kumar, “The 2008-2009 Presidential Transition Through the Voices of Its Participants,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, December 2009, on NYU CLASSES

James A. Thurber, “Changing the Way Washington Works: Assessing President Obama’s Battle with Lobbyists,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Session 6 PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER: THE DEFINING INPUT

Monday Fred I. Greenstein, The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama, January 14 Chapter 1, 2-3 (FDR and Truman), 10 (Reagan), 12 (Clinton), 14-15 (George W. Bush and Obama), and at least two other presidents.

Page 6 of 10

Session 7 PRESIDENTIAL VIRTUES and VICES IN ACTION

Tuesday Denis F. Thompson, “Constitutional Character: Virtues and Vices in Presidential Leadership,” January 15 Presidential Studies Quarterly, March 2010, on NYU CLASSES

William Galston, “Commentary: Ethics and Character in the U.S. Presidency,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, March 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Jill L. Curry and Irwin L. Morris, “Explaining Presidential Greatness: The Roles of Peace and Prosperity?” Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2010, on NYU CLASSES

John Balz, “Ready to Lead on Day One: Predicting Presidential Greatness from Political Experience,” PS, July 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Session 8 ELECTORAL MANDATES

Wednesday Wayne P. Steger, “The Occurrence and Consequences of Electoral Mandates in Historical January 16 Context,” Congress and the Presidency, Fall, 2000, on NYU CLASSES

Jeffrey A. Karp, and Caroline J. Tolbert, “Support for Nationalizing Presidential Elections,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, December 2010, on NYU CLASSES

James E. Campbell, “The Exceptional Election of 2008: Performance, Values, and Crisis,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Session 9 HONEYMOONS

Thursday Stephen J. Farnsworth, and S. Robert Lichter, “The Return of the Honeymoon: Television January 17 News Coverage of New Presidents, 1981-2009,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Gary C. Jacobson, “Legislative Success and Political Failure: The Public’s Reaction to Barack Obama’s Early Presidency,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Stephen J. Wayne, “Presidential Character and Judgment: Obama’s Afghanistan and Health Care Decisions,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, June 2011, on NYU CLASSES

Session 10 THE PRESIDENT’S AGENDA

Friday, Paul C. Light, A Government Ill Executed, 2010, chapter 2, on NYU CLASSES January 18 Paul C. Light, “From Endeavor to Achievement and Back Again: Government’s Greatest Hits in Peril,” 2012, on NYU CLASSES

Paul C. Light, “Government’s Greatest Priorities of the Next Half Century,” 2001, on NYU

Page 7 of 10

CLASSES

Paul C. Light, “Fact Sheet on the President’s Agenda,” October 12, 2004, on NYU CLASSES

Session 11 INAUGURATION DAY

Monday Read over the weekend and attend the inauguration on the Washington mall. January 21 Michael J. Korzi, “The President and the Public: Inaugural Addresses in American History,” Congress and the Presidency, Spring 2004, on NYU CLASSES

Session 12 GOVERNING IN THE CURRENT POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Tuesday Thomas E. Mann, and Norman J. Ornstein, It’s Even Worse than it Looks: How the American January 22 System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism, entire

Session 13 INAUGURATION POST-MORTEMS

Wednesday Ruy Teixeria, “The Public Opinion Paradox: An Anatomy of America’s Love-Hate Relationship January 23 with Its Government,” Center for American Progress, June 2010, on NYU CLASSES

Session 14 PREDICTING THE FUTURE

Thursday Paul C. Light, Government by Investigation: Congress, the President, and the Search for January 24 Answers, 2013, selected chapters on NYU CLASSES

Session 15 WRAP-UP/FINAL PAPERS DUE

Friday January 25

Classroom All students must present themselves in professional dress appropriate to the Washington, D.C. Etiquette environment. Students are expected to meet with the professor regularly, attend all classes and outside events, present themselves professionally in all engagements with speakers, and show appropriate respect and civility toward their classmates. Students are also expected to engage actively in all class activities, ask questions and make comments as called upon, and complete all assignments and extra readings on time.

Required Co- Students will be expected to attend all events associated with the class, including outside curricular meetings with leading experts and officials on course topics. These events will be scheduled Activities at the convenience of the presenter, and may not be perfectly synchronized with the course schedule. These events may include the following kinds of experts:

Page 8 of 10

 The White House, Office of Management and Budget, transition office, and Executive Office of the president with possible speakers such as White House Chief of Staff and former senior NYU administrator Jack Lew, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients, and White House advisor Valerie Jarrett.  Several key departments of government, including the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Department of Energy, and high-level officials in the secretary’s offices and policy units such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  Top congressional advisory offices, including the Government Accountability Office and its Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the Congressional Research Service, and the Congressional Budget Office.  Top Senate and House committees and current and former members such as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the House and Senate Budget Committees, and key members such as Sens. Mark Warner and Claire McCaskill, and Reps. Henry Waxman and Darrell Issa, as well as key staff members.  Lobbying firms such as Duberstein and Associates and top executives and former Washington insiders such as Ken Duberstein and Mike Berman.  Polling firms such as Princeton Survey Research Associates and the Pew Research Center, and their top scholars such as Scott Keeter and Mary McIntosh, as well as Democratic and Republican pollsters such as Celinda Lake.  Think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, and Heritage Foundation, and top scholars at each such as Tom Mann, Norman Ornstein, and former White House chief of staff John Podesta.  Public Interest Groups such as the Project on Government Oversight and its president Danielle Bryan.  Past transition planners such as former White House chief of staff Mac McClarty (Clinton), Brent Scowcroft (Reagan), and Clay Johnson (George W. Bush).

Suggested Co- Students will be asked to take advantage of the wide range of personal development and curricular learning opportunities in Washington, D.C. Students will be asked to arrange tours of the Activities White House, Congress, attend public events as recommended by the professor, and experience the Washington political environment in its fullness.

Your Instructor

Paul C. Light is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and has had a wide-ranging career in both academia and government. He has worked on Capitol Hill as a senior committee staffer in the U.S. Senate and as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives, and has testified many times before Congress, conducted more than 500 interviews with senior officials over the past decade, and written 26 books. He was vice president for governmental studies and the founding director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for Public Service, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a regular columnist for the Washington Post, and an active participant in major policy discussions about government reform. His current research focuses on government reform, Congress, the presidency, and social entrepreneurship.

Page 9 of 10

Page 10 of 10