As an incoming president, what factors would you consider as you worked to integrate campaign and party operatives into your new administration?Who might get jobs?Why can it be problematic to fill administration positions with campaign operatives?

Question

Use examples to illustrate your points.

Answer 1

The ideal answer should:
a. Discuss how presidents must shift from managing a small,close-knit campaign staff to managing the executive office and federal bureaucracy during the transitionand how the debts they accrue during the election create a range of obligations to staff and supporters that are important to consider during the staffing process.
b.Explain the reasons why a president would want to bring campaign operatives into the administration, including a desire to reward supporters, the ability to rely on them to execute his or her policies, and a desire to encourage future campaign work from them.
c. Illustrate the importance of campaign contributions in swing states as a factor in the decision process by drawing on the study of Barack Obama's 2007–8campaign staff, noting that operatives who worked in battleground states were more likely to get a job with the administration.
d. Demonstrate the strategic challenge of appointing campaign operatives by noting that campaign operatives often lack the necessary skill set to govern and that their fierce partisanship can make governing very difficult.