"Elaine C. Kamarck is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management. She is also on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a public sector scholar with wide experience in government, academia, and politics. Kamarck is an expert on government innovation and reform in the United States, OECD countries, and developing countries. In addition, she focuses her research on the presidential nomination system and American politics and has worked in several American presidential campaigns."
In the Broadway musical Hamilton, George Washington tells Alexander
Hamilton, who is fulminating about Congress's failure to adopt his
proposal for a national bank, "Winning was easy. Governing's
harder." Kamarck (Brookings Institution) presents a handful of case
studies of presidential governance failures that illustrate how
recent presidents' distance from and inattention to the executive
establishment have caused the loss of lives, the decline of
presidential popularity, and the growth of Americans' distrust of
government. Kamarck argues that the requirements of "the permanent
campaign" have led presidents to court the public to the point that
they now often treat "the government [they] lead [as] an
afterthought—until it takes down [their] presidency.
Recommended.—CHOICE It's amazing how much we talk about politicians
and how little we talk
about what politicians actually do. Politicians govern. Elaine
Kamarck has
rectified that brilliantly in Why Presidents Fail, showing that an
inability to govern effectively is at the heart of recent
presidential failures. This is crucial information, compellingly
told.
Joe Klein, columnist, Time Magazine
Elaine Kamarck’s book is a must-read for all presidential
candidates,
correspondents, students of government, and citizens who hunger for
Washington to function well again. There’s a stick of dynamite in
every chapter.
Donna Brazile, commentator, CNN
White House failures have occurred so oftenDesert Storm, 9/11,
Katrina, Iraq, the VA, the Health Care Rolloutthat many think them
inevitable. Not so argues Elaine Kamarck, widely respected as both
academic andpractitioner. Presidents should talk less and manage
more; stop the perpetual campaign and start governing. This book
should go to the top of the required reading list for our next
chief executive.
David Gergen, professor of public service and co-director, Center
for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
Why have so many modern presidencies begun in hope and ended in
disappointment? In this concise and trenchant book, Elaine Kamarck
offers
a convincing answer: Too many presidents have neglected a vital
part of their job, managing the federal government. Kamarck’s
compelling case studies of political disasters are page-turnersa
label few books on public administration ever get. Every American
should read this book before voting. Would-be White House aides
should read it more than once.
Doyle McManus, Washington columnist, Los Angeles Times
In this magnificent and timely book, Elaine Kamarck unlocks vital
truths
about why modern presidents so often failand what they must do to
succeed.
Writing as both a superb scholar and a seasoned White House
adviser, her
case-based analyses of several recent presidencies leave none of
conventional academic wisdom unchallenged. This wise book will be
read by scholars and students for generations to comeand it ought
to be read by the president, top White House aides, and cabinet
leaders right now!
John J. Dilulio Jr., Frederic Fox Leadership Professor, University
of Pennsylvania
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