Stephen Hess
Stephen Hess
Stephen H. Hessis a senior fellow emeritus in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He studies media, the U.S. presidency, political dynasties and the U.S. government. He first joined Brookings in 1972 and was distinguished research professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University. He served on Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon's White House staff and as an adviser to Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter...
good ordinary second simple sort year
If it were an ordinary year, a traditional year, sort of a simple first year of a president's second term, you would have to say he had a pretty good year.
glass hour running sand second term
A president's second term is like an hour glass with the sand running out.
came none robust second series shifted term
He really came into his second term with a series of robust proposals, and he's accomplished none of them. His circumstances have shifted dramatically.
best bring capable creative difficult good moving outside people quite second time
It's very often a good thing in a second administration, because it's difficult to bring new people in from the outside ? time is short, all the creative things have already been done. Quite often the best you are capable of doing is moving things around.
celebrity culture elect expect intrigued learn people president stars
I think as we become more and more of a celebrity culture -- as we expect to learn more and more about the people who we elect president or make movie stars -- we are intrigued by their families.
agenda came last robust state
Last year, he came out with a very robust agenda in the State of the Union.
agenda katrina stops
Katrina pretty much stops his legislative agenda cold.
certainly domestic effect immediate money
It certainly has some effect on his immediate domestic agenda. He has no money for anything but Katrina.
campaign press secret seeking suddenly wake
Suddenly the campaign is over, they wake up and the press is not seeking their opinion. There's no more entourage, no Secret Service. It's very, very difficult.
main
That's the main thing he's got going for him,
change nature
It doesn't change the nature of the court.
presidency president
The president was still Ike, and the presidency went on.
across cabinet case looks president reason table vice
The president looks across the cabinet table at the vice president and has to realize, 'The only reason he's there is in case I die.
appeal beyond democrat ethnic nation needs party
The party needs him and, for all I know, the nation needs him. There hasn't been an African-American Democrat who has had an appeal broadly beyond his ethnic group.