Page 273 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

BECOMING A WHITE HOUSE FELLOW

Krulak took the gutsy young upstart under his wing and turned what
surely would have been a dismal year as the loneliest guy in the Pentagon
into a whirlwind experience that Friedman will treasure forever.
One of the best perks of his year in Washington? “I became [Krulak’s]
banker, and we talk to this day,” Friedman said. “The Fellowship was really
a great experience, and I made a lifelong friend.”

OVAL OFFICE KUDOS
In spite of a few clumsy but earnest mistakes like Friedman’s, White House
Fellows have contributed more than anyone imagined was possible. Their
efforts have been lauded by every president they’ve served. For example,
President Richard Nixon said of the program, “At the time it was devel-
oped . . . it was generally thought that those who would be selected as Fel-
lows from around the country would have an opportunity to broaden their
perspective . . . what we found is that the presence of the White House
Fellows in the departments has broadened our perspective.” 46

Then there was this from President Ronald Reagan: “I’m the fifth presi-
dent to preside over this program and like my predecessors I value it
highly—as a vehicle for developing new leadership for the nation, as a
source of fresh talent for the executive branch, and as a symbol of the kind
of achievement we want to encourage and reward.” 47
At a White House ceremony celebrating the program’s thirtieth anni-
versary, President Bill Clinton said, “The White House Fellows program is
one of the few things in this intensely partisan town that we have managed
to make truly bipartisan. It has thrived . . . and if I could turn it into a virus,
I would put it into a shot and give it to everybody who is now working in
48
Washington, D.C.” President Clinton also had high praise for the program
at John Gardner’s memorial service, where he said, “I have been the primary
beneficiary for eight years of the White House Fellows Program. It has had
an enormous impact on what we did and the way it was done.” 49

46 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=2103.
47 Fortieth Anniversary DVD on the White House Fellowship.
48 http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/062295-president-names-white-house-fellows
.htm.
49 President Bill Clinton, remarks at memorial service for John Gardner, April 2002.

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