Succession Planning in the United States Government Post 2008 Election

The transition is a period of potential vulnerability, and the idea is to have someone making sure that no balls get dropped and no missions go unaccomplished

An interesting case study of succession planning is unfolding in the top echelons of the United States Government - the aim: to prevent the transfer of Presidential power in January 2009 from disrupting defence and counterrorism efforts.

The Obama and McCain campaigns are working to compile lists of potential nominees for dozens of national-security and counterterrorism positions so would-be policy makers can be vetted and confirmed as quickly as possible.

Given the inevitable gaps, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked senior Pentagon officials to be prepared to stay in their jobs for the first few months of 2009. The Obama campaign has endorsed the idea.

At the Department of Homeland Security, career officials have been assigned to the No. 2 posts in critical areas so they can step in when political appointees leave.

The push reflects the challenges posed by the first wartime political transition in more than 40 years and fears of a possible terrorist strike or major crisis in Iraq or Afghanistan during the next president's first months in office.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security have never been through a transition.

The effort is designed to avoid the power vacuums that usually accompany a shift in administration.

A recent op-ed noted that it took the Clinton and Bush administrations nearly six months to get major Pentagon and State Department personnel confirmed and into office. Both administrations faced crises shortly after taking office.

This transition will mark the first wartime handover of presidential power since the Johnson administration ceded control of the Vietnam effort to the Nixon White House.

Some analysts fear the Government's transition efforts may fall short.

A report from the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonpartisan group chartered by Congress to give management advice to the government, said it may be impossible to get security clearances fast enough for officials designated by the president-elect.

The report commended the Government for getting an early start on transition work, but warned that some departments "lack an overall transition plan...with objectives, goals and time lines."

Based on Wall Street Journal Article White House, Candidates Plan Smooth Transfer of Power By Yochi Dreazean and Siobhan Gorman July 3, 2007