Innocent until nominated : the breakdown of the presidential appointments process

摘要: According to outspoken presidential scholar Cal Mackenzie, the appointments process is a national disgrace. It encourages bullies and emboldens demagogues, silences voices of responsibility, nourishes lowest forms partisan combat. uses innocent citizens as pawns in petty games politicians stains reputations good people. routinely violates fundamental democratic principles, undermines quality consistency public management, breaches simple decency. In short, at time when political leadership government matters more than ever, procedures for ensuring that are less reliable ever. How did we get into this distressing condition? What wrong with current process? And, most important, what can do fix it? Innocent Until Nominated brings together ten country's leading scholars politics explore recent changes their effects on ability contemporary presidents recruit retain talented leaders. Each chapter provides special focus range topics including transitions, obstacle course Senate confirmation, morass questionnaires, exasperating, exhausting, humiliating experiences appointees. For scholars, students, potential recruits, book offers candid revealing look failures process...and how it has become serious impediment effective executive branch. Contributors include Sarah A. Binder (Brookings Institution George Washington University), E. J. Dionne Jr. Post), C. Edwards III (Bush School Government Public Service, Texas A& M Stephen Hess Institution), Judith M. Labiner Paul Light Burdett Loomis (Robert Dole Institute Service Policy University Kansas), James P. Pfiffner (George Mason Terry Sullivan (University North Carolina Chapel Hill Baker Policy).