August 1, 2016

Elaine C. Kamarck

Harvard Book Store welcomes senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution ELAINE C. KAMARCK for a discussion of her book Why Presidents Fail And How They Can Succeed Again.

Details

At the beginning of the century, the majority of Americans were satisfied with the way things were going in the United States. And then a slow decline began, seemingly uninterrupted by changes in party or achievements by the White House. As the campaigning for the next president begins, the question we ask ourselves now is who will be the most competent leader? In Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again, Elaine Kamarck asks another important question: When did Americans lose faith in their leaders? And how can they get it back?

Kamarack argues that presidents today spent too much time talking, and not enough time governing. After decades of "imperial" and "rhetorical" presidencies, we are in need of a "managerial" president. In her fully readable and accessible book, she explains the difficulties of governing in our modern political landscape, and offers examples and recommendations of how our next president can not only recreate faith in leadership, but also run a competent, successful administration.

About Author(s)

Elaine C. Kamarck is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the Director of the Management and Leadership Initiative at Brookings. She is a public sector scholar with wide experience in government, academia and politics. In the 1980s, she was one of the founders of the New Democrat movement that helped elect Bill Clinton president. She served in the White House from 1993 to 1997, where she created and managed the Clinton Administration's National Performance Review, also known as reinventing government. She also served as an advisor for Al Gore’s presidential campaign.