The Gatekeepers, by Chris Whipple

REVIEW: I felt this book was well worth my valuable reading time and gave me a better understanding of the political process in Washington.    I am not a “political junkie.”  Rather I was interested in this book from an historical perspective.  Much of this information is very current and, especially in today’s culture, it is difficult to approach any political subject without bias.  (Just as it is difficult for the reader to read without bias.)  Except for a few instances, I thought this author presented the facts without making overt value judgements.  Even with the numerous names, most of which were familiar to me, the storyline was easy to follow except for the transition from Howard Baker Jr. to Ken Duberstein (chapter 5).  I totally missed that and did not realize my mistake until later when Duberstein was referred to as a previous Chief of Staff.  The book was very interesting, although not necessarily gripping like an engrossing fiction novel.  I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review. 

Chief of Staff	President		Others
H. R. Haldeman ·       Developed staff system followed by future administrations ·       Said, “President’s most valuable asset is his time” (page 22). ·       His main goal was Nixon’s place in history.	Richard Nixon		J. Edgar Hoover – FBI Director Lied to Nixon about bugging during election Roger Ailes Donald Rumsfeld John Mitchell Charles Colson John Ehrlichman Howard Hunt G. Gordan Liddy Spiro Agnew – disgraced VP Gerald Ford – 2nd VP
General Alexander Haig	Nixon to Ford transition
Donald Rumsfeld Revamped Ford’s organization Restricted access to Ford	Gerald Ford		Dick Cheney – Deputy Chief of Staff David Hume Kennerly – official photographer Henry Kissinger Alan Greenspan Nelson Rockefeller - VP
Dick Cheney White House running extremely smoothly	Gerald Ford		Donald Rumsfeld to Pentagon Kissinger demoted James A. Baker III
Hamilton Jordan At first was unofficial C of S Officially appointed 2 ½ years into term 1980 – resigned to run next campaign	Jimmy Carter		Jack Watson – in charge of transition from Ford Jody Powell – friend, driver Initial WH organization followed “spokes of the wheel” that did not work before
Jack Watson – last 1 ½ year	Jimmy Carter
James Baker Longest term for C of S Redefined position	Ronald Reagan		Nancy Reagan Legislature Strategy Group (LSG)
Donald Regan Hung up on Nancy	Ronald Reagan		Joan Quigley – Nancy’s astrologer
Howard Baker Jr.	Ronald Reagan		Ken Duberstein – Deputy C of S Mikhail Gorbachev – new Soviet leader
Ken Duberstein	Ronald Reagan
John Sununu	George H. W. Bush		Andy Card – Deputy C of S
Samuel K. Skinner	George H. W. Bush		Bob Teeter – campaign chairman
James Baker	George H. W. Bush
Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty Longtime friend of Bill Clinton	Bill Clinton		Hillary Clinton Vincent Foster – White House counselor, committed suicide Harry and Linda Bloodsworth-Thomason Erskine Bowles – Office of Management and Budget
Leon Panetta	Bill Clinton		Erskine Bowles – deputy C of S Dick Morris – secret advisor
Erskine Bowles	Bill Clinton		Monica Lewinsky John Podesta – deputy C of S – in charge of managing Lewinsky “cells”
John Pedesto	Bill Clinton
Andrew Card	George W. Bush		Dick Cheney–VP, (former C of S) Donald Rumsfeld – Secretary of Defense, (former C of S) Condoleeza Rice – National Security Advisor, 2nd term was Secretary of State, became closest advisor Brent Snowcroft – spoke out against war
Joshua Bolten	George W. Bush
Rahm Emanuel	Barack Obama		“The Wrap”
William Daley	Barack Obama		At end of tenure shared job with Pete Rouse
Jacob Lew	Barack Obama
Denis McDonough Served for entire second term Took responsibility for flawed ACA website	Barack Obama

 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1. On page 111 (chapter 4) Margaret Tutwiler as quoted as saying, “The most successful managers are those that are secure enough to surround themselves with extremely strong-willed, talented people.”  Do you agree?
2. James Baker (Ronald Reagan) talked about the tension between those who truly believed in ideals and those willing to compromise to get things done.  Do you think it is right to compromise your goals and beliefs for the sake of progress? 
3. In the same vein, Reagan said, “’I’ll take eighty percent of what I want, and come back later for more.’”  Do you think this is a good way to get things done or should he have held out for everything he wanted?
4. On page 223 (chapter 8), Andrew Card (George H. W. Bush) outlined three duties of the Chief of Staff (“care and feeding of the president; policy formulation, and marketing and selling.”)   How important do you think these are?  How well did each of the Chiefs of Staff do these jobs?
5. In chapter 8 about George W. Bush and Andrew Card, the author writes about 9/11 and the beginning of the war against Iraq for many pages without mentioning Card.  Did you think the author got off track?  Did his own political views get in the way of his writing?
6. On page 268 (chapter 9), Rahm Emanuel (Barack Obama) is quoted as saying about tension among advisors, “You’re supposed to have that.  If you don’t you’re not having the creative tension you need in a White House – that’s how you get kind of the intellectual energy and the political energy to get things done.”   Do you agree?  How necessary is it to have this tension during the decision-making process?
7. What did you learn from this book that you can apply to your job? To your family life and organization?
8. What did you read that relates to today’s politics?  Did this book help you understand the workings of Washington and/or the workings of the current political scene?
9. How much do you think the author’s opinion colored the information in the book? 
10. How important is it that the Chief of Staff be a Washington insider?  Do you think someone without Washington experience could do an effective job?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and  Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on  the upper right link.