[Infowarrior] - OpEd: The White House: An Operating Manual

[Richard Forno]

The White House: An Operating Manual

By Tom C. Korologos
Sunday, November 23, 2008; B07

The writer is a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium and now a strategic  
adviser at DLAPiper. He spent five years in the White House under  
Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112102687_pf.html

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Memo to the White House staff:

Congratulations on your appointment. Here follows a handy list as you  
begin your duties in the White House.

Pinch yourself every day and repeat, "This is not a dream."

You don't have to work at the White House. You get to work at the  
White House. It's a real treat to work there. You are a caretaker, so  
take good care of it. The hours are long and demanding, but take  
advantage of the opportunities offered. Bring your kids in to have  
lunch in the White House mess on Saturdays. Bring friends and  
relatives to arrival ceremonies, to the Christmas parties and the  
Easter egg hunts, because it will all soon be over.

Once you're inside, you need to figure out a way to get out. There is  
never a good time to move on to another job. So start thinking about  
an exit plan on the first day.

You have no personal views when it comes to discussing the president's  
policies. You represent him 24-7 and in every detail.

One of your most important assignments is to keep the trash of  
government from the president. Keep the president away from intramural  
government debates. The Cabinet should exhaust all the options and  
disputes before they rise to the president.

In congressional affairs, half your time will be spent explaining the  
White House to Congress and the other half explaining Congress to the  
White House.

Leave the media and public relations to the media and public relations  
shop. You are likely to undercut a policy or create problems.

You are never permitted to utter the words "It will be vetoed." Only  
the president can say that. The closest you can come is: "The staff  
will recommend a veto."

The White House is a building. Buildings do not speak. Remember that  
everybody will take your call when you are calling from the White  
House. Take note of those who will accept your call after you've gone.  
Dial your own calls; your assistant will screen the incoming.

Return calls in the following order: The president. The vice  
president. Your wife. Your kids. Congressional leadership. Others as  
time permits -- also see next item.

If you feel you won't have time to talk when you return a call, place  
the call before 9 a.m., or during the lunch period or after 6 p.m.  
Chances are good the caller will be out, but you will get credit for  
returning the call. Old friends are very sensitive to having their  
calls ignored; get 4-by-5 cards and dash off handwritten notes.

Read as many papers as you can before 8 a.m. As President Gerald R.  
Ford once said, "Start with the sports pages. Chances are 50-50 the  
news will be good."

Be careful of your personal appearance: your wardrobe, the ego wall  
with photos, your language, your personal demeanor. You are now in the  
White House, not on the Hill or in your den.

Outside the White House gates, watch your conversations at lunch and  
don't display your White House pass.

All those tourists who come and go and swarm the White House are  
paying your salary. Treat them accordingly.

Cabinet officers outrank you. Treat them with the respect they deserve.

Be accountable for every activity you undertake. An errant e-mail will  
find its way into millions of homes and blogs and the gossip columns.  
Follow the rules of the excellent little e-mail guide, "think before  
sending." The most secure way to communicate is with pen and paper --  
and sometimes that doesn't work, either. Don't ever put anything down  
on paper that you don't want to see on the front page of The  
Washington Post.

Go home. At 7, 8 or 9 p.m. Forget it. The work will be there in the  
morning.

For your grandchildren, type up (not on the computer; it's subject to  
a subpoena and to mass distribution) a page of your activities for the  
day. Use an old-fashioned typewriter, if you can find one.

There are two things to remember on the ethics side. First, codes of  
ethics bind the ethical. Second, if it feels good, it is probably wrong.