Get Access The Gatekeepers: How The White House Chiefs Of Staff Define Every Presidency Put Together By Chris Whipple Accessible Through Document

is a fantastic book on American politics, covering nearlyyears of U, S. presidents and their White House chiefs of staff,

I was keen to pick up The Gatekeepers after seeing it referenced in a news story when Reince Priebus, Donald Trump's chief of staff, was fired in July.
The book explains why the role of White House chief of staff is so important, and has fascinating stories from the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.
W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush, and Barack Obama.

When I started reading this book, I didn't expect to get as engrossed in it as I did.
The stories were so interesting that I raced through it in two days, amazed at how our political history continues to repeat itself.
Some of the players involved were so arrogant and egotistical that it damaged the administration other times the president himself was so disorganized that even a disciplined chief of staff couldn't keep order.
After finishing this book, I better understand how difficult that staff position really is, and why it's considered such a powerful post.


While reading, I frequently paused to marvel at how connected everyone is in Washington it really is its own little world, with the same people sticking around for decades.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that the young upandcomers in the Ford administration, two fellas by the names of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, later became such huge players in the G.
W. Bush administration. One of the biggest shocks I had reading this book was seeing Cheney described as a pleasant, humble guy in the 's.
Surprising, right Cheney was so despised and controlling during the GWB years that several people in the book commented on how much he had changed.


Sidenote: I was also shocked by how presidents and their chiefs kept making the same mistakes often despite warnings from previous administrations and of hearing the same names pop up over and over again that I could have put on a tinfoil hat and run around shrieking, "WAKE UP, PEOPLE! EVERYTHING'S CONNECTED!!"

There are so many great stories from recent history in The Gatekeepers that I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American politics.
I'd also recommend it as a guide to managers, often for examples of what NOT to do,

Favorite Quotes
"You have to be the person that says no, You've got to be the son of a bitch who basically tells somebody what the president can't tell him.
" Leon Panetta, chief of staff to Bill Clinton

"Somebody's got to be in charge, Somebody's got to be the goto guy who can go into the Oval Office and deliver a very tough message to the president.
You can't do that if you got eight or nine guys sitting around saying, 'Well, you go tell him.
'" Dick Cheney, chief of staff to Gerald Ford

"A great president can get away with a mediocre chief of staff a mediocre president can't possibly.
" Robert Reich Ive been on a bit of a Presidential bio kick lately, working towards a goal of reading at least one biography on each of ourPresidents.
Those biographies, naturally, tend to focus heavily on the President and his decisions, with only a cursory examination of the other key players in a presidential administration.
With a few exceptions, the Chief of Staff did not figure prominently in the narrative the two exceptions being H.
W. Brands Reagan: The Life and James Cannons Gerald R, Ford: An honorable Life, Naturally, I failed to grasp what a huge role the Chief of Staff plays in the success or failure of a presidential administration.
I try not to give a lot of booksand only do so if it meets some specific criteria.
One of those criteria, is if a book significantly influences my way of thinking about a subject, This book did that. Its fair to say that the information in this book will remain in the forefront of my mind as I continue my journey through presidential biographies.
Indeed, it comes to mind constantly as the drama of the Trump Administration unfolds daily before us, The version I read ends with Obama but the author recently published an article covering the first year of the Trump Administration.


That said, the book is not perfect, A few times, I felt the author was overselling his case a bit in order to defend his thesis.
After reading this, it would be all too easy to conclude that every failure was the result of the Chief of Staff when that is clearly not the case.
Still, that is a minor quibble, The only truly disappointing section of the book is the chapter on George W, Bush. The author barely mentions Bushs two chiefs of staff at all, choosing instead to cover the blunder of the Iraq War.
Andrew Card was chief of staff for five years, yet we learn next to nothing about what he actually did.
The author implies that Cheney kindof took over but doesnt follow that aspect of the story through to a satisfying end.
He should have kept coming back to what Card was or was not doing, what Cheney had wrestled away, and why that wasnt working for the Bush Administration.
Instead we get a rehashed account of the decision making leading up to the Iraq War, I thought about knocking my rating down tofor this but I feel the book truly did revolutionize the way I look at a presidential administration and think that alone justifies thestar rating.


What follows are my notes on the book:

The fate of every presidency arguably hinges on this littleunderstood position.
The chief of staff translates the presidents agenda into reality, When government fails, it can often be traced to the shortcomings of the chief, The executive branch has the most awesome responsibilities of any corporation in the world, the largest budget of any corporation in the world, and the largest number of employees.
Yet the entire management structure has to be formed in a period ofdays,

H. R. “Bob” Haldeman and Richard Nixon

Neither Kennedy nor Johnson had a true chief of staff.
Kennedy achieved little and Johnson was driven from office defeated, Nixon brought in a lot of strong, idiosyncratic personalities and needed a “tough SOB” to keep them in line.
Haldeman would be that man, Haldeman read everything he could on how to organize the White House, He devised the staff system used by every president since, Nothing would go to the president that wasnt staffed out for lateral coordination and reviewed by competent staff.
No one was to be permitted to “endrun” the staff process and pitch their own agendas directly to the president.
An image sprang up that Haldeman was isolating the president and preventing him from hearing diverse views he needed to make informed decisions.
But that narrative wasnt true, Haldeman actually worked to get more people in to see a president who was pathologically shy and who preferred memos to meetings.
Haldeman had become adept at shelving many of Nixons orders that were beyond the pale, But some of the presidents other confidants were less squeamish, People like Chuck Colson and Ehrlichman began meeting with the president privately creating the endrun situation Haldeman had worked so hard to prevent.
The Watergate Scandal ensued not because Haldeman had isolated the president but because people stopped following his system.


Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Gerald Ford

When Ford came in, he initially kept the overbearing General Alexander Haig in place during his transition.
From the start Ford announced that he would govern with eight or nine advisors reporting directly to him, a “spokes of the wheel” approach.
Inevitably, his White House resembled a kids soccer game, everyone running toward the ball, The undisguised contempt between Ford loyalists and the Nixon holdovers didnt help the situation, meaning Haig was often cut out of the loop.
Staffers and cabinet secretaries would come and go into Fords office as they pleased to get him to sign things.
The free for all meant there was no way to record what was discussed or decided, Donald Rumsfeld, who had been running his transition, warned him that the approach he had used in congress would not translate to the executive branch but Ford was adamant.
Rumsfeld left for his new job at NATO, Fords surprise pardoning of Nixon created a firestorm in both the White House and the across the country.
The chaos that ensued led Ford to conclude that Rumsfeld was right and he was brought back in as the new Chief of Staff in exchange for a promise to be appointed to a cabinet post at a future date.
Rumsfeld curtailed the freeforall access to the president and made it clear the trains would run on time.
The workload was tremendous and Rumsfeld brought in Dick Cheney to be his deputy, Rumsfeld was the tough SOB that the niceguy Ford needed to keep things in order, Rumsfeld clashed with VP Rockefeller and convinced the President that his promise to let Rockefeller be in charge of the administrations domestic agenda was ludicrous.
Rumsfeld would staff Rockefellers proposals out which killed many of his big spending proposals, Cheney, then genial and selfeffacing, proved to be a valuable deputy and his eventual promotion to Chief of Staff when Rumsfeld became Secretary of Defense was universally welcomed.
He had a softer management style but was every bit as firm as Rumsfeld had been, The performance of Rumsfeld and Cheney kept the administration moving and almost won the president a second term in spite of the overwhelming odds.


Hamilton Jordan, Jack Watson, and Jimmy Carter

Attorney Jack Watson was one of Carters closest advisors.
Watson believed Carter was always the smartest man in the room and was quite possibly the smartest president weve ever had.
Cheney had warned the incoming president that the whole “spokes of the wheel” approach was a recipe for disaster but Carter and his advisors were suspect of anything that resembled Nixons imperial presidency.
They wanted a return to the JFK/LBJ model of a White House without a chief, Carter chose not to appoint Watson as chief of staff, Watsons rival, Hamilton Jordan, didnt want the positions or its responsibilities yet he moved into the chiefs office next to the presidents.
Jordan would also antagonize congressional leaders by refusing to return phone calls, Carter was unable to prioritize and without a chief of staff, there was nobody to sort through the thicket and force him to stay on track.
Carters response was to work even harder, As the crises continued to mount, Carter realized the spokes of the wheel approach wasnt working and even the true believers were becoming disillusioned with the president.
As the Iranian Hostage Crisis dragged on and Reagan gained in the polls, Carter finally appointed Watson as his chief.
Watson belatedly got the White House Staff functioning again but it made little difference with all the mounting crises: inflation, unemployment, skyhigh interest rates, Iran Hostage crisis, etc.
Reagan beat Carter in a landslide,

James A, Baker III and Ronald Reagan

Ed Meese was the likely candidate for Reagans chief of staff but he was habitually, horrendously disorganized.
Baker was a close friend of Bush and worked on his campaign, Baker impressed both Ronald and Nancy and he accepted the job, While Carter was “the smartest man in the room,” Reagan was considered an “affable dunce, ” Baker was brilliant and a pragmatist he would spend the next four years battling the ideologues in the administration.
Baker worked out a deal with Meese, Meese would be special counselor to the president and in charge of policy while he would control the paperwork, speechwriting, and access to the president.
Under this arrangement Baker cleverly seized control of the levers of power, Baker met with his predecessor Watson for lessons learned, Reagan had a few core beliefs: reducing government, a strong military, and cutting taxesbut he needed a chief of staff to work out the details on how to achieve these goals.
After the assassination attempt, Baker sensed an opportunity and he helped to push through tax reform, Reagan was prepared to make deals with Democrats in order get some of his priorities through, Baker facilitated that give and take kept the president from touching any third rails that would harm his presidency like Reagans desire to make social security voluntary.
The infighting wore Baker down and he kept his eye open for an off ramp, When Secretary of Treasury Don Regan proposed they swap jobs he agreed and they went before the president who accepted the plan without question.


Don Regan, Howard Baker Jr, Kenneth Duberstein and Ronald Reagan

Unlike Baker, Regan focused on the “Chief” part of his title and not the “staff” part.
Regan began constantly appearing on TV and in pictures next to the president instead of working behind the scenes.
The first big controversy was on theth anniversary of WWII when Reagan was to lay a wreath at a German cemetery that, unbeknownst to them also held the graves of some Waffen SS.
Regen ducked responsibility and a rift grew between Regen and Nancy Reagan, The NYT published stories saying Regan was the power behind the throne and angry phone calls began to grow between Regan and Nancy.
The press picked up on a story in a Lebanese newspaper that the US had traded weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of hostages held in Lebanon.
Unbeknownst to Reagan, members of the NSC were taking some of that money and clandestinely diverting it to the Contras in Nicaragua.
It is almost impossible to imagine this scandal occurring if Baker had remained as chief, In a heated phone call, Regan hung up on Nancy, sealing his fate, Former Senate Majority leader Howard Baker was brought in as the new Chief, Bakers wife had cancer, so Duberstein was brought in as an assistant and began carrying much of the load.
They began to turn the ship back around, The Presidents televised speech admitting mistakes with the IranContra scandal appeased the American people, Reagan was a people person, thats how he learned, Regan had closed the door to the Oval Office, Baker and Duberstein filled their rolls as gatekeepers but got people moving through again, With Reagans “tear down this wall” speech in Berlin, Duberstein had returned Reagan to the starring role,

John Sununu, Samuel Skinner, James A, Baker III, and George H, W. Bush

Sununu was the opinionated and pugnacious governor of New Hampshire, He already had two strikes against him that should have been warning signs: he had already been a “principal” as Regan had, and he was an outsider to Washington.
Bush recognized Reagan was different, that he needed a director, but Bush wanted something different, The press had accused him of being spineless and uninspiring, Bush was determined to be seen calling the shots, not his chief, Many of Bushs decisions like his VP selection were often total surprises known only to himself, Sununu had a hair trigger, was overbearing, and often cussed out the staff, thinking everyone would view him as tough.
His deputy Andy Card thought otherwise and when Sununus troubles mounted, had few friends to back him up.
On foreign policy, Bushs team worked together harmoniously, Bush adroitly managed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War, Though his calm handling of these situations was portrayed as emotionless and uncaring in the press, But when trying to pivot to his domestic agenda, Sununu proved a liability, His scorched earth approach was alienating his own staff and members of congress, Oblivious to the sharks circling, Sununu was caught using military aircraft for personal travel and resigned, Samuel Skinner, a Chicago businessman was brought in who was immediately overwhelmed, Bush was in the midst of his annus horribilis throwing up on the Japanese prime minister, an economic slump, and faced third party challenger Perot.
To save his presidency he turned to a trusted friend, James A, Baker III. Baker began to turn the ship but was brought in too late to make a difference and Bush lost to Clinton.


Thomas McLarty, Leon Panetta, Erskine Bowles, John Podesta, and Bill Clinton

Clinton was a brilliant politician but undisciplined.
In a last minute, seat of the pants move he brought in Thomas McLarty, a friend from Arkansas, to be his Chief of Staff.
The White House would start out without any organization, Meetings would go on for hours, people would just wander into the Oval Officeit was a mess, McLarty would prove too nice to enforce discipline or tell the president “no, ” Ambitious aides and liberal factions began jostling for the presidents favor, Clinton was easily knocked off message, A frustrated Hillary brutally critiqued the chiefs management of the staff, Clinton had some successes NAFTA but his signature issues were stalled and his administration paralyzed, Clinton was still trying to be everything to everyone, McLarty was out and OMB Director Leon Panetta was brought in, Panetta was shocked how informally the White House was run McLarty didnt even have an organizational chart of the staff.
Panetta brought in Bowles as his deputy, They analyzed the presidents schedule, showing him where his time was going and comparing that to what he said his priorities were.
Panetta also too charge as gatekeeper, After the Republicans retook the House in, Panetta and Bowles helped Clinton prepare for his faceoff with Gingrich and the month long government shutdown that followed.
Little did Panetta know, Dick Morris had slipped in behind his back as Clintons ghost advisor, Panetta recognized Clinton needed Morris and worked out a compromise where Morris stayed on as an advisor but did not have any power over the staff.
As Panetta put the ship back on course, Clinton won reelection, When Panetta left after his second year, Bowles moved up to be the new chief, Bowles constantly fought to keep the President on track whenever he came out of his office with his next great idea.
Bowles was devastated when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, Bowles couldnt bring himself to deal with it and left in the fall of, Clintons fourth and final chief was John Podesta, Podesta was determined to keep the presidency moving but had to deal with the challenges of Gore running for president and Hillary running for the Senate.
Podesta championed the use of executive power to achieve smaller objectives,

Andrew Card, Joshua Bolten, and George W, Bush

With Bushs election, Cheney and Rumsfeld were coming home to the White House, Andrew Card, a close friend of the family, was the new Chief of Staff, Card was organized and efficient, Baker was his role model but understood that Bush, like his father, didnt appreciate the idea of the chief of staff being the power behind the throne.
Traditionally, the chief of staff has more power than the Vice President, The events of/transformed Bushs presidency and vaulted Cheney into a position of prominence, Typically, the VP has trouble even getting into the Oval Office for lunch, but now decisions were flowing through Cheney.
Cheney and Rumsfeld would lead the push for the Iraq Invasion, Despite serving more than five years in the position, Card is barely mentioned again in the rest of the chapter and the author dives into the Iraq War.
After Card resigned, OMB Director Joshua Bolten was called in as the new chief, Bolten felt Bush was not well served by his security apparatus, Rather than bringing him options they were bringing him a strategy to bless, Bolten was instrumental in pushing Rumsfeld out as Secretary of Defense,/started his presidency, the financial crisis would end it, Bush was told by his advisors that we were on the brink of another Great Depression, Despite it violating his beliefs, he swallowed the medicine being offered and signed theB Troubled Asset Relief Program TARP to bail out Wall Street.


Rahm Emanuel, William Daley, Jacob Lew, Denis McDonough, and Barack Obama

A month before the election, Obama held a secret meeting to begin considering who would hired by the administration.
Panetta and Bowles both turned down offers to be his chief of staff, Congressman Rahm Emanuel quickly gained the attention of Obama, With control of both houses of Congress there was a tremendous opportunity to generate change, While Rahm certainly filled the “tough SOB” character the job required, he too struggled with keeping factions of moderates and truebelievers in check.
After pushing through the stimulus package, Obama overrode Emanuel to focus on healthcare reform, Once given his marching orders, Emanuel was laser focused and relentless, twisting arms and cutting deals with congressmen and the pharmaceutical industry.
James Baker believed Obama blundered in his hands off approach, letting Congress write the legislation for hispriority.
The bill passed on a party line vote and the Democratic majority was wiped out in the next election.
When Chicago Mayor Daley retired, Emanuel left to pursue that position, Former JPMorgan executive Bill Daley was brought in as the new chief in hopes of countering the antibusiness image of the administration.
With no knowledge of the governments inner workings, he was a bad fit from the start, When the “Grand Bargain” fell apart over the intransigence of the Tea Party, the focus shifted overseas toward the Bin Laden raid.
It was a rare moment of triumph for Daley, In, the White House announced Daley would share responsibilities with Pete Rouse, cutting his legs out from under him.
Frustrated and bitter, Daley resigned, OMB Director Jack Lew was brought in, Lew remained only a short time before being nominated to replace Geithner as treasury secretary, Denis McDonough came in and instilled some discipline it probably didnt hurt that Jarret and the Chicago Mafia had departed by this time.
Still, Obama was too much like Carter, smart but unsocial, They never mastered the give and take needed to get things done in DC, McDonough argues that the environment shifted and this criticism is unfairthey didnt have to deal with the hyperpartisan environment like he did.
McDonoughs greatest failure involved the botched rollout of healthcare, gov. Obama had been asking for months if everything was good but McDonough never ensured the system was properly tested.
It was an embarrassing failure on the Presidents signature issue, Obama focused on executive orders to get his agenda through, Obamas decision not to enforce his red line in Syria occurred after one of his “wrap sessions” with McDonough on the White House lawn.

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