I wrote this out to make sure it doesn’t
go more than five minutes there are to
my knowledge for surviving male members
of President Kennedy’s White House staff
take Goodwin the father of doing man who
introduced me Chuck Daly Harris Wofford
and me I arrived in June of 1961 and was
staff assistant to the president
responding responsible for finding
people to suggest to him for
presidential appointed positions it was
a small office which has now morphed
into the White House personnel office I
found what I now call the traditional
presidency as opposed to today’s version
JFK’s total staff was 77 and opposed to
perhaps 1,200 today and that included
many typists and outlying groups like
the President’s Commission on physical
fitness
there was no chief of staff he was his
own chief of staff there were no staff
meetings because no one had the right to
call one he knew all the key people
before they came to the White House it
was a personal team everybody was on a
first-name basis except for the
President himself including the vice
president
which he didn’t take kindly to he didn’t
think in terms of an organization chart
he picked people he knew and trusted and
figured that they would find a set of
responsibilities and figure out ways to
carry out those responsibilities
as things went along after about four or
five days after the inaugural professor
after shlessinger great Harvard
historian came over from an office in
the East Wing went into the Oval Office
and said mr. president I’m not sure I
exactly know what I’m supposed to be
doing around here president said don’t
worry Arthur I don’t know what I’m
supposed to be doing I do there was
nothing either organizationally or
culturally to discourage never mind
prevent me when I had a superb idea that
was going to save Western civilization
from going to talk to Mac Bundy the
National Security Advisor or his deputy
you know they never adopted any of my
ideas you cannot see what a mess the
world just
beginning with Nixon
it all changed from the office of the
president to the Department of the
presidency characterized by much more
hierarchy structure and protocol does
that work better who knows it all
depends on your criteria but a staff of
so many people with access to so many
resources has transformed the presidency
into an operating agency CF Iran gained
and markedly thereby has reduced the
checks and balances in our system of
governance
[Applause]
go more than five minutes there are to
my knowledge for surviving male members
of President Kennedy’s White House staff
take Goodwin the father of doing man who
introduced me Chuck Daly Harris Wofford
and me I arrived in June of 1961 and was
staff assistant to the president
responding responsible for finding
people to suggest to him for
presidential appointed positions it was
a small office which has now morphed
into the White House personnel office I
found what I now call the traditional
presidency as opposed to today’s version
JFK’s total staff was 77 and opposed to
perhaps 1,200 today and that included
many typists and outlying groups like
the President’s Commission on physical
fitness
there was no chief of staff he was his
own chief of staff there were no staff
meetings because no one had the right to
call one he knew all the key people
before they came to the White House it
was a personal team everybody was on a
first-name basis except for the
President himself including the vice
president
which he didn’t take kindly to he didn’t
think in terms of an organization chart
he picked people he knew and trusted and
figured that they would find a set of
responsibilities and figure out ways to
carry out those responsibilities
as things went along after about four or
five days after the inaugural professor
after shlessinger great Harvard
historian came over from an office in
the East Wing went into the Oval Office
and said mr. president I’m not sure I
exactly know what I’m supposed to be
doing around here president said don’t
worry Arthur I don’t know what I’m
supposed to be doing I do there was
nothing either organizationally or
culturally to discourage never mind
prevent me when I had a superb idea that
was going to save Western civilization
from going to talk to Mac Bundy the
National Security Advisor or his deputy
you know they never adopted any of my
ideas you cannot see what a mess the
world just
beginning with Nixon
it all changed from the office of the
president to the Department of the
presidency characterized by much more
hierarchy structure and protocol does
that work better who knows it all
depends on your criteria but a staff of
so many people with access to so many
resources has transformed the presidency
into an operating agency CF Iran gained
and markedly thereby has reduced the
checks and balances in our system of
governance
[Applause]
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