White House Chiefs of Staff, 1969-2017

Below is a list of modern White House Chiefs of Staff (1969-2017) compiled for a book I am co-authoring on the topic.

Chief of Staff                                     Tenure             President                     Party

Harry Robbins (H.R.) Haldeman        1969-73           Nixon                          Republican

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.                       1973-74           Nixon                          Republican

Donald H. Rumsfeld                          1974-75           Ford                            Republican

Richard M. Cheney                             1975-77           Ford                            Republican

William Hamilton M. Jordan              1979-80           Carter                          Democratic

Jack H. Watson, Jr.                             1980-81           Carter                          Democratic

James A. Baker III                              1981-85           Reagan                                    Republican

Donald T. Regan                                 1985-87           Reagan                                    Republican

Howard H. Baker, Jr.                          1987-88           Reagan                                    Republican

Kenneth M. Duberstein                      1988-89           Reagan                                    Republican

John H. Sununu                                  1989-91           G.H.W. Bush              Republican

Samuel K. Skinner                              1991-92           G.H.W. Bush              Republican

James A. Baker III                              1992-93           G.H.W. Bush              Republican

Thomas F. McLarty III                       1993-94           Clinton                        Democratic

Leon E. Panetta                                  1994-97           Clinton                        Democratic

Erskine B. Bowles                              1997-98           Clinton                        Democratic

John D. Podesta                                  1998-01           Clinton                        Democratic

Andrew H. Card, Jr.                           2001-06           G.W. Bush                  Republican

Joshua B. Bolten                                 2006-09           G.W. Bush                  Republican

Rahm I. Emanuel*                              2009-10           Obama                         Democratic

William M. Daley                                2011-12           Obama                         Democratic

Jacob J. Lew                                       2012-13           Obama                         Democratic

Denis R. McDonough                         2013-17           Obama                         Democratic

Reinhold R. “Reince” Priebus            2017                 Trump                          Republican
John F. Kelly                                       2017-p             Trump                          Republican

* After Emanuel left his post to run for mayor of Chicago, Senior Adviser Peter M. Rouse served as interim chief of staff from October 1, 2010, to January 13, 2011.

The Obama-Romney Post-Election Meeting: No Bromance Expected

Politico Arena Topic: A Romney-Obama Friendship?

The meeting between Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama is the political equivalent of two head coaches of rival sports teams shaking hands after the conclusion of a heated game. Just like the Yankees and Red Sox or Packers and Bears, the handshake means nothing except to signify that at the end of the contest, the combatants can be somewhat civil towards each other but the rivalry will continue.

Unlike John McCain who continued in his capacity as a U.S. Senator following his 2008 defeat, Mitt Romney has no position in government and thus will have absolutely no impact on policy or politics. Democrats won’t need to listen to him and Republicans won’t want to.

I also do not foresee Obama and Romney becoming bosom buddies down the road as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter or George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton did. The 2012 election was a particularly bitter contest (not that all presidential elections aren’t tough) and both candidates seemed to have a high level of disdain for one another. In the end, the meeting will make for a nice photo-op but will disappear quickly from the public consciousness as focus will turn back to the fiscal cliff Washington is staring at through the windshield.

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Red, White, Blues, and Progress

On February 21, 2012, the White House, along with PBS, hosted a blues concert in the East Room as part of their ongoing “In Performance at the White House” concert series—a series that actually began in 1978 during the Carter presidency. “Red, White and Blues” included performances from some of the biggest blues musicians around.

The concert itself was amazing, especially the rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” performed by all the invited performers with a little help from POTUS himself. But beyond that, what hit me was watching the legendary 86 year old B.B. King, a native of Mississippi and son of the segregated South, performing for President Obama. Throughout his early career, KIng played many a club where he was not even allowed to dine because of the color of his skin. And yet, in 2012, here he was playing his guitar for the President of the United States, also a man of color. Though I know this country has a long, long, way to go regarding race relations and basic civility, seeing B.B. King perform for the President in a building once built by slaves, I realized that we have indeed made progress.

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Jammin' Out in the East Room

Sorry...this White House is cool. And that's not a partisan assessment. It's a musical assessment. The concert series the First Family hosts from time to time is awesome. Broadcast live through the White House website, tonight's concert, Red, White, and Blues, was dedicated to blues, blues, and more blues. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and more adorned the stage in the historic East Room in a concert that will be broadcast on PBS February 27. The "Sweet Home Chicago" jam session that finished the concert was freakin' amazing. POTUS even showed off his singing pipes again.

The "In Performance at the White House" series didn't actually start with President Obama. It actually started during the Carter years in 1978 with the famous pianist Vladimir Horowitz. But the quality and quantity of musical acts has been kicked up a notch under 44. Now how do I get an invite to the next one???

Here's some "behind the scenes" clips from some past performances:

Back to the Future: Solar Panels to Return to White House

In 1979, at the height of the energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels atop the West Wing of the White House to great fanfare. They were removed by the Reagan administration in 1986.

Today the Obama administration announced it would be bringing solar back to the White House next spring spearheading a push to promote solar energy. This time the panels will be located on the White House residence.

Not surprisingly, partisan critics are comparing President Obama to Carter for his move back to solar. The problem: they fail to criticize to George W. Bush as well. "In 2003, President George W. Bush quietly installed a series of three solar systems on the White House grounds, including panels on the pool cabana to help with water heating." The hard cold truth is that the development of green energy and energy independence is not a partisan issue, or at least it shouldn't be.

The Fallacy of the Post-Racial Society

It is quite ironic that in our supposedly "post-racial" age that the ugly face of racism is rearing it's head openly and often in public. Jimmy Carter is right. Maureen Dowd is right. I've said it here before: many Americans cannot accept the fact that we have a black president. Never have, never will.

How do I know?

We have polls which tell us so.

I have people who have personally told me so.

This all began long before the election (see video above)--the "post racial America" has always been a fantasy.

Is everyone who opposes President Obama a racist? Of course not. The great majority of those who oppose him are not.

However, there is a loud, fringe element, baited by the open hostility and racism of merchants of hate such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh who have gained the courage to openly flout their extremist leanings. Just check out You Tube--it's all over the place. And it's both discouraging and frightening.

SAM 28000

How strange it must be to take that final flight home as a brand new member of the ex-president's club. All sorts of emotions must be flowing: relief, melancholy, sadness, appreciation. Imagine being accustomed to the whole world hanging on your every word, traffic stopping for your motorcade, whole neighborhoods shutting down by your very presence, top secret briefings occurring every morning, and in the matter of a few moments at Noon on January 20 of your final term, all of it stopping. Juxtapose the feelings of that final flight home with the excitement and euphoria that a new president, his family, and staff must feel as they board Air Force One for their very first flight.

Former President George W. Bush flew back to Texas with dozens of family, friends, and former staff following President Barack Obama's inaugural address on the Boeing 747 normally known as Air Force One. However, when the president--the current president--is not on the plane, the plane's designation changes. For the trip to Midland where former President Bush spoke to supporters, the plane was designated Special Air Mission 28000 (28000 is the plane's tail number).

Mark McKinnon, a former campaign strategist for the Bush-Cheney campaigns, has an interesting first hand account on The Daily Beast of the trip back to the Lone Star State complete with pictures he snapped. Also at the Beast, is an article recounting the rides home taken by five other new ex-presidents: Ford, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, and Clinton.

Regardless of the president, I am always a little melancholy. Their departure signifies that an era for our country has ended and time marches on.