Seven Questions: Kenneth Duberstein

As Americans go to the polls Tuesday, most everyone can agree on one thing: When the winner wakes up on Wednesday morning, the weight of the world will fall on his shoulders. With an economy in crisis, a military fully engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a political transition looming, the United States is about to enter a vulnerable periodbetween one president and the nextwhen neither will fully hold the reins.

Both candidates have made their cases for a strong and quick start, should they be elected. But to learn the ins and outs of what makes a White House transition run smoothly, Foreign Policy‘s Elizabeth Dickinson spoke with Kenneth Duberstein, former chief of staff for Ronald Reagan. Duberstein, a longtime Republican who last week endorsed Democrat Barack Obama, warns that, with the world watching anxiously, the next president will have no margin for error.

Foreign Policy: As former chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan toward the end of his administration, what can you tell us about what the transition to George H.W. Bush’s administration was like?

Kenneth Duberstein: The transition between Reagan and Bush was fundamentally sure-footed, hand in glove. People knew what was expected of them, and the handoff was smooth. Having said that, friendly takeovers are sometimes more difficult than hostile ones because people [working in the administration] anticipate that if a person of their own party stays as president, they have an inside shot to remaining in their jobs. President Reagan’s direction was for me to send a letter to every political appointee asking for their resignation so that they would receive an acceptance letter signed by Reagan. We were sending the message that they were not to plan on staying past Jan. 20 by noon.

In the bigger picture, we appointed a transition team of several people in the White House to meet with senior Bush people 24 or 48 hours after the election. Any issue was overseen by this group, which I chaired, to make sure that everything went as smoothly as possible. The handoff is something that is viewed not just here in America, but throughout the world, so there cannot be any hiccups. It has to be smooth and sure.

During the transition, for example, President Reagan had a famous lunch with Mikhail Gorbachev on Governors Island in New York. We brought with us President-elect George H.W. Bush for a ceremonial passing of the baton. There were seven Americans and seven Soviets at this lunch. Theres a famous picture taken right after the lunch. Standing in front were Gorbachev, President Reagan, and President-elect Bush with the Statue of Liberty in the background, which signaled and symbolized to the world that the torch had been passed from Reagan to Bush even if there were a few weeks left in the Reagan presidency.

FP: With your own experience as a positive example, what stands out to you as an example of an ineffective transition? Why didnt it work?

KD: I think the transition between George H.W. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton had some stumbles and some question marks raised about staffingpeople were not confirmed, or nominated, and there were major holes in the U.S. government.

What also sticks out is the ascension of Jimmy Carter after Jerry Ford, when Carter got off on such a bad footing with [House] Speaker Tip ONeill [and Carter was] not working closely with the leadership of his own party in Congress. One of the lessons that you take out of this is to smooth things not just within the administration but to plan your initial weeks in office so that the presidency begins the day after the election. You have to do the planning so that you can hit the ground running.

FP: What do you think the top five items on the president-elect’s agenda will be during the upcoming transition?

KD: Certainly the president-elect must focus like a laser on an economic recovery package. Recognizing that the economy is the No. 1 issue during the campaign, he has to put together a program focused heavily on the economic package. He needs to do an awful lot of coordination, not just with Democrats but with Republicans.

He needs to put together a governing team that is not necessarily a campaign team, because in government, you make nice with your adversaries and your campaign tries to annihilate them — different talents. And [he should be] signaling to the rest of the world that this is going to be different for America. We are going to talk to allies and adversaries as well.

But his real job is putting together a government and putting together initial programs that will dominate the initial months [of the presidency], signaling that while [George W.] Bush is still president until January 20, a new day is coming and here’s where I view how to do business overseas. For example, the G-20 summit that is taking place in Washington [later this month] — that is not a place the president-elect will attend because it is a Bush summit. But it is something he should monitor closely.

FP: Some transition teams work closely with the outgoing president’s administration. How do you imagine George W. Bush’s people will cooperate with the newly elected president?

KD: I think what President Bush has put into place, led by [White House Chief of Staff] Joshua Bolten, is not only forward-looking but calibrated the right way. In the time of transition, a time where America has troops in active combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the possibility of terrorist acts are always present, it is absolutely important that this transition be taken without a hitch. It has to be seamless. And while any new president will be tested, this is not a time that America can let down its guard.

I think President Bush and Josh Bolten will bend over backwards to do this right to protect [the United States]. [I would imagine] a transition meeting in the White House with the incoming president-elect hopefully before the end of this week.

FP: This year in particular, both candidates have distanced themselves substantially from President Bush. Is it awkward, in transitions such as these, to work with and ask for help from someone whom you have been criticizing for the last two years?

KD: We believe in peaceful transitions in government all in our history, not only in theory but in practice. We are one America. We only have one president at a time, and how you leave center stage is very important to the ultimate verdict on you.

FP: Last week you endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the presidency. How have your fellow Republicans reacted to your announcement?

KD: I have been gratified with the overwhelmingly positive response from not simply Democrats but especially from so many Republicans who have shared with me their own personal journey towards deciding to vote for Sen. Obama. It has been a truly unbelievable outpouring. That doesnt mean there haven’t been a few outliers, but the vast majority who have e-mailed or called me have said, “Thank you for doing the right thing.”

FP: Some people have said that they see similarities in style and message between Sen. Obama and President Reagan. Do you think the two men are alike in any way?

KD: I think Sen. Obama has campaigned on hope, not fear; optimism, not negativity; on [a belief that] America’s best days are yet ahead. [The Obama campaign has been] positive, upbeat, looking to the future, not simply the past. I think he has taken a page out of the Reagan campaign playbook.