On June 12 & 13, 2009, the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs hosted a White House Domestic Policymaking Symposium, bringing key figures in the White House domestic policy operation from every administration since Richard Nixon to examine how domestic policy is developed and sold from the White House, as well as the lessons from domestic policy successes and failures.

Session 1: From Campaigning to Governing

Panelists:

Bertram Carp (Carter Administration)

Margaret Spellings (George W. Bush Administration)

Bruce Reed (Clinton Administration)

Andrew Busch, Claremont McKenna College

Moderator: 

Michael Nelson, Rhodes College, Miller Center Non-resident Senior Fellow

Session 2: Developing Domestic Policy in the White House

Panelists:

Egil Krogh (Nixon Administration)

James Cannon III (Ford Administration)

Roger Porter (George H. W. Bush Administration)

Bertram Carp (Carter Administration)

Charles Walcott, Virginia Tech

Karen Hult, Virginia Tech

Moderator:

Michael Nelson, Rhodes College, Miller Center Non-resident Senior Fellow

Session 3: Selling Domestic Policy from the White House

Panelists:

Stuart Eizenstat (Carter Administration)

James Pinkerton (George H.W. Bush Administration)

Margaret Spellings (George W. Bush Administration)

Bruce Reed (Clinton Administration)

Lawrence Jacobs, University of Minnesota

Moderator:

Michael Nelson, Rhodes College, Miller Center Non-resident Senior Fellow

Session 4: Lessons from Domestic Policy Successes and Failures

Panelists:

Egil Krogh (Nixon Administration)

Stuart Eizenstat (Carter Administration)

Roger Porter (George H. W. Bush Administration)

James Pinkerton (George H.W. Bush Administration)

William Galston (Clinton Administration)

Paul Quirk, University of British Columbia

Bruce Nesmith, Coe College

Moderator:

Michael Nelson, Rhodes College, Miller Center Non-resident Senior Fellow