The Nerve Center: Lessons in Governing from the White House Chiefs of Staff

Joseph V. Hughes Jr. and Holly O. Hughes Series on the Presidency and Leadership

by Terry Sullivan (Editor), James A. Baker III (Foreword)

In what James A. Baker III has called the “worst job in Washington,” the chief of staff orchestrates the president’s conduct of the U.S. government. He holds the unique responsibility to magnify the time, reach, and voice of the president of the United States. “You need a filter, a person that you have total confidence in who works so closely with you that in effect he is almost an alter ego,” Gerald Ford has said. In this volume, resulting from the Washington Forum on the Role of the White House Chief of Staff held in 2000 in Washington, D.C., twelve of the fifteen men who have held the office of chief of staff discuss among themselves and with a select group of participants the challenges, achievements, and failures of their time in that role. Their purpose is to find lessons in governing that will help future chiefs of staff prepare to assume the office and organize the staffs they will lead. These pages of frank and uncensored discussion present in straightforward question-and-answer format the voices of the chiefs of staff themselves concerning the transition from campaign to governance, with its reorganization and refocusing of the president’s team, the reelection drive four years later, and eventually, the closing out of an administration. The group also addresses the place of the White House chief of staff within the larger governing community of the Executive Branch, Congress, interest groups, and the press. The American White House sits at the nerve center of world history, and at the core of this nerve center, a massive bureaucratic operation exists to process the flow of information and policy. The White House chief of staff manages that operation. So important has that office become, that to ignore its requirements risks presidential fate itself and indeed, the fate of the republic.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

A former prosecutor, Terry focuses his practice on criminal defense, representing clients accused of felonies, misdemeanors, DUI/DWI, and traffic violations. Highly respected in the legal community for his aggressive courtroom style and negotiating skill, his fellow attorneys also cite his fairness and legal expertise.

As legal analyst for WGN-TV (Channel 9) for the past twenty years, Terry has discussed evolving legal issues on breaking local, national and international matters. He has covered topics such as the nomination of Supreme Court Judges, Proposition 8 and gay adoption. He has also discussed and analyzed many high-profile cases including the trials of O.J. Simpson, Conrad Black, Saddam Hussein, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Jason Van Dyke.

Terry earned public recognition while serving as a prosecutor under three State’s Attorneys. His most notable prosecution was of the infamous John Wayne Gacy, the most prolific serial killer convicted in the history of the United States.

Terry’s book, Killer Clown, placed him on the Chicago Tribune’s best seller list.