Transition Memo to the President-Elect

Yet when seeking the right people for the top jobs, prepare to be surprised. President-elect Reagan was turned down by six of his first Cabinet choices, President-elect Nixon by four. Only Eisenhower claimed he was accepted by everyone.

A case history: In the 2000 transition, Paul O'Neill met with President-elect Bush and Vice President-elect Cheney and outlined all the reasons he should not be appointed Treasury secretary. Two years later, President Bush fired O'Neill for exactly those reasons.

Case history No. 2: President-elect Clinton on making Mack McLarty his chief of staff: "He told me he would prefer another job more suited to his business background. Nevertheless, I pressed Mack to accept the position." McLarty was not a successful chief of staff, but he stayed in the administration and successfully completed a number of important international economic transactions.

The moral of the stories: Those who say no usually have a good reason, even if you think otherwise.

Know When to Fold

When a nomination is in trouble, count votes and move quickly if you don't have enough of them.

The worst case was the nomination of John Tower, then a former senator from Texas, as secretary of defense. Bush 41 would not fold and became the first incoming president to be denied a Cabinet member of his choice. The best case: Bush 43 replaced labor secretary nominee Linda Chavez within two days of a controversy surfacing over her dealings with an illegal immigrant and was given more credit for acting expeditiously than blame for making a flawed appointment.

And One More Thing

Here's my last piece of gratuitous advice -- although it will be hotly challenged by Bill Clinton:

Never give major public policy responsibility to someone you cannot fire.

Stephen Hess is senior fellow emeritus in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and Distinguished Research Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. He is the author of "What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-Elect."