Hopefully Anonymous

Brain Dump

1. Before the internet, I considered Diane Rehm somewhat of a hack but the best "podcast news analysis" I had available at the time slot she aired. Well, either she's better than what I remembered or she's gotten much better: in her archives within the past couple weeks you can listen to her doing an excellent interview with Joe Steiglitz, and an Obama and McCain economic advisor on Obama's economic team. She asks them some tough questions via an email she received. Sorry I don't have the link handy. However, it sparked this thought: Credible independent economists should watch what's going on with Wall Street & Citibank very carefully in real time regarding the TARP money: how much is this just taking from the public commons. I don't want an expose from Michael Lewis or Henry Blodget 2 years later: I want commentary NOW. For example, who received public money to free up credit markets and then paid out dividends instead? Why does the Obama administration not want to renegotiate these deals? How much is to be made of Rick Rubin's connection with Obama's economists? Lawrence Summers'? Would smart independent, unconnect economists do this differently? I want REAL TIME analysis from the best.

2. Deans of MPA schools are failing to criticize Obama picks on technocratic (as opposed to ideological) grounds. Thus is hurting their own alums and reason for existing in the first place (that there's some domain competence to be learned regarding public administration). I'm especially talking about HHS, and after that State dept. here.

3. Obama's flaws are starting to shape up. He has problems with transparency (TARP, investigating torture and FISA violations) and he has problems with the healthy encouragement of nascent competing centers of executive competence outside his presidency, by snapping up the most likely governor/challengers to him in 2012 for his cabinet. Also, Republicans should go after him for not being technocratic/meritocratic outside of his economic and defense teams. It may not be the winningest Republican challenger strategy, but it offers the most positive externalities for the rest of us and it does seem like a winnable strategy to me.

Experts debating the housing bubble's existence in June 2005

This is a fun read. June 2005 was the bubble's peak, so it would be nice to correlate predictions with academic reputation of economists by standard measures like citations.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jun2005/nf20050622_9404_db008.htm?campaign_id=topStories_ssi_5

national campaigns like SAT's, governorships like GPA

I think it's a useful analogy for assessing presidential candidates and their administrative talent.

Another Brain Dump: Technocrats, identity politicians and shammers, race as a mythology even elite statisticians are vulnerable to, and pointing out that we're too stupid to use decision theory as small talk

(1-4 are comments I made somewhere, I think in Steve Sailor's blog:)

1. I really want conservatives and republicans to be effective challengers to Obama. The way to do this is to focus on where he's weak on meritocracy/technocracy.

2. Hint: go after the appointments to Secretary of State and Health and Human Services in particular. Also, I'm not sure about the qualifications for Homeland Security and and Commerce Department appointees for those specific posts. Obama chose governors rather than from the pool of true experts specifically at administrating commerce and homeland security policy, regulation, and granting bureacracies.

3. And in congress in particular, Republicans could be going after the antimeritocratic seniority system. At least this would be a challenge that would bring positive externalities to the American public.

4. Conservatives have trouble accepting it, but Obama did not run with a Jackson/Sharpton resume. He's a technocrat shamming as an identity politician (unlike Palin, who was the reverse, or Reagan who didn't feel the need to bother shamming).

5. (a comment I made in Gelman's social science statistics blog) statisticians, sociologists, and psychologists seem to have their own blindspot when it comes to discussing statistics and race/phenotype/ethnicity. Not that any other discipline sees more clearly, but I think it's perhaps a stronger mythology that succeeds in turning more of us into stakeholders. Thus obviously messy and incoherent realities about race, phenotype, and ethnicity are force fitted into narratives and the discussion tends to be focused on justifications of the force-fitting without any kind of dissent. I'm thinking about the lack of studies that look specifically at a spectrum of skin color and/or a spectrum of ethnicities without race as a reduced categories proxy.

6. I think if we were more rational and more intelligent, the main shared conversation space would be decision theory, instead of sports, popular entertainment, or even public policy (which is probably irrational for us non super high status/decabillionaires to spend much time thinking about).

I like Bobby Jindal in 2012 as a challenger to Obama

I like Bobby Jindal in 2012. But I'd like to see a strong technocrat challenger to Obama on the Democrat side too. Like Hillary Clinton was in 2008.

Comments on my proposal of 10 states of 30 million citizens each?

Here it is again. Last time I only got TGGP's aesthetic/emotional (in my view) preference for smaller states with less power.

Now that Obama's president-elect and you power aligning apes have gotten a bit more excited about technocracy, what do you think about this proposal to help build better presidents?

http://hopeanon.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/todays-brain-dump.html#comments

http://hopeanon.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/todays-brain-dump.html#comment-131612426

I sing the praises of Preeta Bansal

When looking for future presidents, harvard law magna cum laude's isn't a bad place to start, in my estimation. The challenge is (1) to get the maximize their meaty administrative experience relavant to being president on the way up, and (2) to get them to want the job of president and to compete for it with the less intellectually qualified for the job.

http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/005535.html#comment222418

Excellent Article: "Ideal Obama Picks"

Funny that the best article I've seen on this topic is in a college newspaper.

I'll highlight the picks Matt made that I like. I don't like his HHS  suggestion: just because someone is a former governor and a physician with a health care reform plan, doesn't make them among the highest qualified to run the huge HHS bureacracy. I like Health directors of big states, former undersecretaries and former regional directors better: I think it's more direct preliminary experience and that we should look at the best from that pool first.

But here are his picks that I like:

http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2008/11/13629/ideal-cabinet/

"Whom Obama should pick to create the ideal Presidential Cabinet
By Matt Zeitlin
In the wake of any president winning his first election, political insiders start one of their favorite parlor games: Cabinet speculation. Well, we at North by Northwestern may not have the highly-placed sources who leak like malfunctioning faucets to the bigger news organizations, but we do have misplaced, naïve idealism! So, here’s a hypothetical cabinet that’s a combination of the predictable and probable (just look at Treasury and Defense) to the delightfully doubtful (check out Agriculture).

Secretary of State: Richard Holbrooke– In the first six or so years of the Bush administration, the State Department was stripped of authority and influence. In the run-up to the Iraq War, the Defense Department was in charge of planning (or not planning) for post-intervention reconstruction, although there were State Department officials with more relevant expertise. Structurally, the uniformed military has taken on a lot of traditionally diplomatic responsibilities, especially in countries where the U.S. is deeply involved in counter-terrorism. The State basically needs a power-hungry jerk to wrest back their influence from the Defense Department. Holbrooke, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is that person. The man got the Serbs and Bosnians to stop killing each other, but that’s probably because they all wanted to leave Dayton, Ohio as soon as possible."

Ofcourse I like this pick. Holbrooke may be the most qualified person in the country to run the state department.

"Tim GeithnerSecretary of the Treasury: Tim Geithner– This 47-year-old hotshot is the current head of the New York Federal Reserve and a former Treasury official. Everyone seems to like him and he was lauded for his deft handling of the Bear Stearns collapse and bailout. Appointing a Treasury Secretary now is like appointing a War Secretary in 1940– you need someone who knows what he’s doing. Geithner does– he can boast both his experience actually leading a federal reserve and the knowledge of how the Treasury works from his experience under Clinton."

Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates– Obviously, Democrats want to put their stamp on the Pentagon, especially considering that a Republican, William Cohen, was the last Secretary for a Democratic administration. Withdrawing from Iraq, however, will require buy-in from some Republicans and the defense establishment. Also, Gates recognizes that the future of the military is not getting in dogfights with Russia or China, but instead low-intensity, counter insurgency conflicts. "

Obama was wise to pick Geithner for his economic team and Gates for his defense team. Obama should have the same high technocratic standards for his other cabinet and appointed positions that he's used for his economic and defense picks.

"Attorney General: Janet Napolitano– For Attorney General, you want someone who is loyal to the president but not a weak-willed pushover like former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, best remembered for blatantly lying to the Senate Judiciary ..."

I think Holder is actually by some technocratic measures more qualified than Napolitano. Still, I don't like Holder's ethical judgment or apparent academic averageness (for a Justic Dept. lawyer). If Elliot Spitzer hadn't flamed out, he might have been great for this position.

"Jay InsleeSecretary of the Interior: Jay Inslee– He’s a Democratic representative from Washington state and has a long record serving on both the Resources and Energy and Commerce Committees. His environmental record is near-impeccable, which would be a relief after eight years of dismantling environmental protections and regulations under Secretaries Gale Norton and Dirk Kempthorne."

I'm skeptical of this suggestion. He sounds like he has some subject matter experience, but his academic credentials and administrative experience? I'd look at state directors, undersecretaries, and regional directors first.

"Secretary of Agriculture: Daniel Sumner– In a perfect world, we would not have a Department of Agriculture. Besides some cursory responsibilities related to food inspection, its primary responsibility is to oversee a multibillion dollar subsidy program that impoverishes poor farmers in the developing world by artificially lowering the price of American farm goods. As if that weren’t enough, our subsidy program favors unhealthy foods like high fructose corn syrup, thus making it easier for Americans to eat what ails them. So, who should Obama appoint to this position, besides a barrel full of dynamite? How about famed agricultural economist Daniel Sumner? This University of California-Davis academic has been an intellectual leader in the battle against farm subsidies. His paper written for the American Enterprise Institute, “Farm Subsidy Tradition and Modern Agricultural Realities” lays out a cogent, detailed case against our current agricultural policy. "

Cool pick, but his administrative experience and demonstrated competency?

"Secretary of Commerce: Olympia Snowe– Tapping the senior Republican senator from Maine would accomplish quite a few objectives for Obama. One, she is a Republican, and having a few members of the opposition party in his cabinet would do a lot to promote Obama’s “new politics” and back up his rhetoric about healing the partisan divide. Two, Snowe has distinguished herself as a lawmaker who’s something of a specialist in commerce and small business as a member of the Finance, Small Business and Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Science and Transportation Committees. And an extra bonus: Maine is a deep-blue state with a Democratic governor that went 58-41 for Obama. If he could lure Snowe out of the Senate, the Democrats could be able to hold on to her seat for decades. "

Same feelings as the Interior pick. These are large bureacracies, we should look for demonstrated talented administrators with expertise in the particular field.

"Secretary of Labor: Wilma Liebman– Exactly what does a Labor Secretary do during a Republican administration? Well, they don’t do much, except staff the place with people opposed to organized labor. So, the Labor Secretary ought to be someone who knows her way around the federal labor bureaucracy and can reverse eight years of stalling – or worse – by Elaine Chao, the current Labor Secretary. Wilma Liebman, who was appointed to the National Labor Relations Board by Bill Clinton in 1997, would be someone with the requisite pro-labor credentials and governmental experience."

Sounds good if it meets the basic qualifications I've discussed above. Don't know too much about Liebman or her academic credentials or administrative competence, but she seems to have the requisite experience.  

"John Kitzhaber. Photo by Orna Izakson, released into the public domain.Secretary of Health and Human Services: John Kitzhaber– Haven’t heard of the mustachioed former governor of Oregon? Neither have most people, unless they’re health policy wonks. He is a former doctor, and as governor helped create the Oregon Health Plan, which provides health coverage for low-income individuals. Since leaving office in 2003, he has been active in health policy and an advocate for universal coverage and evidence-based care. "

As I discussed above, I think there may be people with better experience and expertise for HHS, the largest of the federal bureacracies.

"Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan– Sure, he sounds like (and looks like) an extra from The Departed, but he’s also doing a pretty good job as New York City’s Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. According to The New York Times, he “is seen nationally as a pioneer in finding new ways to create and preserve low-cost housing.” The only concern is that if Obama were to tap him, along with Sadik-Khan and Klein, New York City would be bereft of talented bureaucrats."

Seems like a perfect pick. Academic credentials?

"Secretary of Transportation: Janette Sadik-Khan– The big problem with our federal transportation policy is that it is centered on getting states as much highway money as possible so they can make it easier and easier for people to commute longer and longer distances. Considering the long-term likelihood of high oil prices and concerns about global warming, we need someone who is focused on transportation for people who live in urban areas and close-in suburbs, which will likely grow in size as far-out suburbs and exurbs become unsustainable. Sadik-Khan, who is currently New York Citiy’s Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, is almost universally beloved by public transit advocates and progressive urban planners. She also rides her bike to work every day. "

 Also Seems like a perfect pick. Academic credentials?

"Kathleen SebeliusSecretary of Energy: Kathleen Sebelius– Although she was mentioned as a vice-presidential candidate, the Democratic governor of Kansas would make a fantastic Energy Secretary. As governor, she gained nationwide attention for three times blocking the construction of coal-fired power plants. Under an Obama administration, the Energy Secretary will have the responsibility of managing huge investments in alternative energy and shifting away from fossil fuels. Considering Sebelius’ record, she’s the woman for the job "

I'm not sold. What about big state state directors and former undersecretaries and regional directors?

"Secretary of Education: Joel Klein– Another New York City bureaucrat, Klein is the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. He has gained both national fame and notoriety for his ambitious plan of testing students, evaluating teachers and rating individual schools. He is a noted educational reformer and founder of the Education Equality Project, an advocacy group that is pushing for wide-ranging reform of American primary and secondary education. He also already has federal government experience, having served in the Justice Department from 1997 to 2001."

Great choice. His academic credentials are solid: he's another harvard law magna cum laude. It would be nice if he had a graduate degree in education, too.

"Secretary of Homeland Security: William Bratton– The Department of Homeland Security is a total mess, so someone with a lot of experience in large law enforcement bureaucracies would probably be right for the job. Bratton is the current Chief of Police in Los Angeles and has served as Police Commissioner in Boston and New York. In New York, he was responsible, along with Mayor Rudy Giuliani, for reforming the department and putting an emphasis on empirical measures of success for individual precincts. He oversaw a large drop in crime during his tenure."

Seems like a solid choice. 

"Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Chet Edwards– Losing Edwards to the Cabinet would certainly be a blow to the Democratic House caucus, where he is already a rising star. But Edwards has always been a determined advocate on behalf of veterans and has already expressed interest in the job, rhetorically asking, “Where could I do the most good for veterans? I’m not sure.”"

I forget Chet Edwards' resume (I remember it's pretty strong) -does he have prior administrative experience? Like usual, what about top state directors, former deputy directors and regional directors?

Info Dump: People more qualified to run HHS than Daschle

So here's some bios of technocrats that I think are clearly more qualified to be HHS administrator than Daschle. I'd look at the Health directors of the 4 biggest states, Shalala's top administrative aides who helped oversee the entire HHS administration, as well as the star regional directors of HHS under Shalala:

http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/5807/

Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Dr. Mark Horton Director of Department of Public Health and State Public Health Officer Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Dr. Mark Horton as director of the newly formed California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and state public health officer.

"Nothing is more essential to our state than protecting our people. Since I first appointed Mark more than a year ago, he has demonstrated unfailing commitment to protecting the health of all Californians," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Mark has dedicated over three decades to protecting public health and safety and ensuring the protection and well-being of children. His experience, knowledge and skills make him the right person to serve California in this critical role."

To underscore his commitment to public health, last year, the Governor signed SB 162 which created a statutorily separate Department of Public Health. This new Department will bring greater focus to the issues of public health by moving public health functions currently within the Department of Health Services to the new department.

The CPDH creates a more effective public health infrastructure in California, to decrease illness, injury and death rates; provides greater protection for California residents in the event of an act of bioterrorism or other major public health emergency; and increases accountability and improves program effectiveness for the public health.

“This new Department of Public Health is another way we are strengthening our state's emergency preparedness and taking action to make the state safer,” the Governor said.

In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Dr. Horton as the California state public health officer. In this position, Horton is responsible for advising the Governor, the secretary of Health and Human Services and the director of the Department of Health Services on public health issues.

"I am honored Governor Schwarzenegger has asked me to continue serving the people of California in this new capacity," said Horton. "I look forward to using my experience in state government and as a physician and public health official to work for the protection of health for all Californians."

Horton is a pediatrician and public health official with more than 30 years of experience. He previously served as the deputy agency director and health officer for the County of Orange Health Care Agency from 1999 to 2005. Prior to that, he was vice president for community programs, director of the Center for Child Protection and director of the Center for Healthier Communities for Children at San Diego Children's Hospital and Health Center from 1997 to 1999.

For the preceding six years, Horton served as director of public health for the State of Nebraska. From 1990 to 1991, he was director of general and ambulatory pediatrics for Creighton University Medical Center and from 1981 to 1989, Horton was a pediatrician at Boystown National Research Hospital. His experience also includes three years as a pediatrician with the Craven County Health Department under the National Health Service Corps and two years as director of general ambulatory pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Horton has also served in several academic positions, including adjunct professor for the San Diego State University School of Public Health, faculty pediatrician for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, assistant professor for the Department of Pediatrics at the Creighton University School of Medicine and assistant professor for the University of Nebraska School of Medicine.

In addition, he is an active member of the medical and public health communities, serving as a member of many boards, committees and commissions including the Orange County Health Care Agency Executive Team, the Children's Services Coordination Committee, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Board of the American Lung Association of Orange County, the Environmental Health Tracking Project, the Orange County Children and Families Commission Technical Advisory Committee and the National Association of County and City Health Officials Tobacco and Chronic Disease Advisory and Environmental Health Committees. Horton also serves on the board of the Orange County Health Needs Assessment Community Partners and co-chairs the Children's Healthcare Initiative.

Horton, 61, of La Jolla, earned a Medical Doctorate degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Louis University and holds a Master of Science in public health from the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health. He was an ambulatory pediatrics fellow at the Duke University Medical Center and pediatric resident at Northwestern University's Children's Memorial Hospital. The position of director of CDPH requires Senate confirmation and the position of state public health officer does not require Senate confirmation. The compensation is $222,000. Horton is a Democrat.

Horton will assume the position as director of CDPH on July 1, 2007.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/commissioner/bio/

Richard F. Daines, M.D. was nominated by Governor Eliot Spitzer to be the fourteenth New York State Health Commissioner on January 18, 2007. The nomination was confirmed by the New York State Senate on March 21, 2007.

Prior to becoming Commissioner of Health, Dr. Daines was the President and CEO of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center from January 1, 2002 until January 2007. Previous to joining the Hospital Center as Medical Director in 2000, Dr. Daines served as Senior Vice President for Professional Affairs of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York since 1994 and the Medical Director from 1987 to 1999. Dr. Daines received a Bachelor of History degree from Utah State University in 1974 and served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia, 1970-1972. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1978. He served a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine (1987-1997).

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/commissioner/biography.shtm

David L. Lakey, M.D., serves as Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, leading one of the state’s largest agencies with a staff of 11,500 and an annual budget of $2.5 billion. As Commissioner, Dr. Lakey oversees programs such as disease prevention and bioterrorism preparedness, family and community health services, environmental and consumer safety, regulatory programs and mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

Dr. Lakey became Commissioner on January 2, 2007. Prior to becoming Commissioner, Dr. Lakey served as an associate professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Clinical Infectious Disease and medical director of the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease Control at the University of Texas Health Center in Tyler. He had been a faculty member there since 1998.

At the UT Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Lakey served as associate director for infectious disease and biosecurity. He also chaired a bioterrorism preparedness committee for 34 hospitals in East Texas and led the development of the Public Health Laboratory of East Texas in 2002.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, graduating with high honors from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., and received his medical degree with honors from Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Lakey was a resident in internal medicine and pediatric medicine and completed a fellowship in adult and pediatric infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He is board certified in infectious disease and pediatric infectious disease.

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/statesurgeongeneral.htm

Ana M. Viamonte Ros M.D., MPH, was named Secretary of the Florida Department of Health by Governor Charlie Crist in January of 2007. On July 1, 2007, under new legislation, she officially became Florida's first State Surgeon General. She is the first woman and the first Cuban American to hold this position.

Surgeon General Viamonte Ros is dedicated to advancing the Department of Health's vision of ensuring all Floridians are healthy, safe and well. She is committed to advocating for better healthcare in Florida, making the healthcare system more user-friendly, promoting healthy habits among Florida's youth, preparing the state for any type of disaster, reducing health disparities and leading Floridians to better health by example.

In 1960, her family fled Cuba. Having come from a family of refugees, she understands the struggles of Floridians and is passionate about ensuring public health programs help Floridians achieve a higher quality of life.

Surgeon General Viamonte Ros earned her medical degree in 1983 from the University of Miami School of Medicine, graduating with several awards and honors. She attended residency training in radiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C.

In 2005, Surgeon General Viamonte Ros received her Master of Public Health degree (MPH), with a concentration on family and community health, from the Harvard School of Public Health. There, she was also the recipient of the Gareth Green Award for Excellence in Public Health, the highest student award.

She came to DOH from Armor Correctional Health Services, where she worked to organize and monitor the health care delivery services in Florida's correctional institutions, and also oversaw the development of medical discharge programs. In her role, Surgeon General Viamonte Ros traveled with a team of medical professionals to the Dominican Republic to help prevent the spread of HIV among inmates by conducting rapid HIV testing and offering support.

Surgeon General Viamonte Ros remains committed to advancing healthcare delivery systems in public health settings and has volunteered with programs like the Camillus House Homeless Initiative in Miami, the Health through Walls International Health Outreach, and the Brookside Community Health Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Throughout all her community volunteer projects, she has been a strong advocate for disadvantaged individuals and minority communities.

She has written several articles in the areas of mental health, radiology and family health, in addition to lecturing at numerous health care symposia.

Surgeon General Viamonte Ros is the mother of two grown children.

Learn more about the State Surgeon General's 3P's Tour

http://www.businessofgovernment.org/main/interviews/bios/thurm_bio.asp

Deputy Secretary Kevin Thurm

Kevin L. Thurm
Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
(Clinton Administration)

Kevin L. Thurm became Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Aug. 30, 1996.

HHS is the federal government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The Department includes some 300 programs, covering a wide spectrum of activities, including medical and social science research, preventing outbreak of infectious disease, assuring food and drug safety, Medicare and Medicaid, financial assistance for low-income families, Head Start, substance abuse treatment and prevention and services for older Americans. The Department's budget in Fiscal Year 2000 is $387 billion.

As Deputy Secretary, Thurm works closely with HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala on all major policy and management issues, and he serves as the Department's chief operating officer. Additionally, Thurm chairs the HHS Union-Management Partnership Council, and leads several Departmental initiatives, including the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act and the National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative, and he chairs the Department's Minority Initiatives Steering Committee (the Hispanic Agenda for Action, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative, the Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative and the Asian American Pacific Islander Initiative). Moreover, Thurm leads the development and implementation of six cross-cutting Secretarial Initiatives.

The Deputy Secretary is also helping to lead some major cross-cutting federal initiatives. He serves as the HHS representative on the President's Management Council. Thurm chaired the Health Care sector of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, leading successful efforts across health-related agencies to ensure all medical facilities and devices were prepared for the January 1, 2000 rollover.

Beginning January 1993, Thurm served as HHS Chief of Staff. In addition to coordinating HHS activities and issues and serving as a principal advisor to Secretary Shalala, Thurm served as the central point of liaison between the Department and the White House. As the Department's Regulatory Policy Officer, Thurm played a key role in setting the Department's regulatory agenda and reviewing all regulations issued by the Secretary.

Thurm, who is a former Rhodes Scholar, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University in 1983, B.A./M.A. degree from Oxford University in 1986 and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1989.

From 1989-1991, he was an associate with the New York Law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel. He also worked as a legislative assistant in the Massachusetts state legislature in 1983-84.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/1998pres/980401d.html

HHS Chief of Staff Mary Beth Donahue

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343

HHS SECRETARY APPOINTS NEW CHIEF OF STAFF

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala has announced the appointment of Mary Beth Donahue, 32, to be chief of staff, serving as a principal advisor to the Secretary on all major policy and management issues and initiatives.

In addition to coordinating HHS activities and issues, Donahue serves as the central point of liaison between the Department and the White House.

HHS is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

The department administers more than 300 programs, covering a wide spectrum of activities which include biomedical research, food and drug safety, Medicare, Medicaid, public health, Head Start, and many other critical federal responsibilities. For fiscal year 1998, the department's budget is more than $359 billion.

"I am pleased to appoint someone to the post of chief of staff who is so knowledgeable about HHS' operations, as well as the responsibilities and challenges of the post. I believe that Mary Beth will be a very capable chief of staff," Secretary Shalala said.

Donahue had served HHS as deputy chief of staff since June 1995, overseeing operations and administrative functions of the chief of staff's office, including providing leadership and direction within HHS on issues that impacted the White House. She also oversaw several units within the Immediate Office of the Secretary. Donahue joined HHS in April 1993 working for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation.

Donahue served on the 1992 Clinton-Gore Presidential Campaign and Transition as director of scheduling for Tipper Gore. She has also worked for the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the Boston Private Industry Council. Donahue began her career working as an executive assistant to Governor Michael Dukakis from 1987 to 1989.

A graduate of the Senior Managers in Government Program of Harvard University in 1997, Donahue also received a M.P.P. from Georgetown University in 1992 and a B.A. from Boston College in 1987.

A native of Holden, Mass., Donahue resides in Washington, D.C.

http://www.atp.nist.gov/ehealth/cary.htm

Margaret Cary, MD MBA MPH for NIST
Margaret Cary is President of Boundroids, Inc., a consultancy specializing in strategy for web-based healthcare technology companies and physician organizations, and a member of the Leapfrog Group's Incentives and Rewards Lily Pad. She was recently Chief Medical Officer of the Colorado Business Group on Health (CBGH) and the physician representative and speaker for the CBGH Leapfrog Group rollout. Her areas of specialty include patient safety, patient information, healthcare quality, physician relationships and healthcare leadership. She coauthored a definitive text in telemedicine and telehealth, Telemedicine and Telehealth: Principles, Policies, Performance and Pitfalls (Springer).

She holds a faculty position at the University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine and is a lecturer at the Graduate School of Business at CU-Denver. She is chair of the Dean's Policy Advisory Council for the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, a member of the CU Technology Transfer External Advisory Board, the Executive Advisory Board for the Center for Health Administration at the Graduate School of Business at CU-Denver, the Advisory Board for the Global Health Initiative at CU, and the Board of Directors for the California Health Collaborative.

She is the former Regional Director for the US Department of Health and Human Services where she developed health and social care policy and implemented programs for six states, and managed 350 employees in the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS, formerly HCFA), the US Public Health Service, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Administration on Aging, the Administration for Children and Families and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She was a member of several cabinet level committees including women's health, managed care, and infant mortality. She was a member of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and advised HHS on healthcare information technology/ telehealth recommendations. While at HHS she was given the Colorado BioMedical Venture Center Award for improving communications between biomedical companies and the FDA and Secretary Shalala's Award for Distinguished Service.

Additional posts include Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Vox Medica, a $200 million health communications company with marketing, advertising, education and public relations agencies and Vice President of a startup medical device company with innovative technology in diagnosing and treating breast cancer.

Margaret Cary was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Center for Health Care Technologies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a specialist advisor for Military Health Services (MHS2025), which submitted recommendations for redesigning the Military's healthcare system for 2025, and a member of Micromedex's Strategic Advisory Board and the Governor's Task Force on the Columbine High School Tragedy. From 1988-1994 she was a member of the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners.

She is a member of the Denver Committee on Foreign Relations, Women's Forum of Colorado, American Academy of Family Practice, American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians, American College of Physician Executives, American Public Health Association, American Telemedicine Association, Health Information and Management Systems Society, and National Association of Science Writers.

Margaret Cary has spoken extensively on healthcare technology implementation, healthcare communications strategies, the changing physician-patient relationship, healthcare quality, leadership and management, women's health, and patients as partners.

[Hopefully Anonymous: I checked out the 10 HHS Regional Directors from the Clinton administration. I probably missed some late entrants or early exits, but overall they're an unimpressive bunch, in my opinion (except for Margaret Cary). If they were stronger candidates I think they'd also be part of the pool of more clearly competent technocrat alternatives to Daschle. Jay Inslee is possibly one to add to the list (I'm a bit iffy on him because he seems to have failed to distinguish himself intellectually beyond becoming a lawyer).]

http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/manual/1998/177653tx_xxx-39.txt

Regional Offices  The 10 HHS Regional Directors are the Secretary's
representatives in direct, official dealings with State and local
government organizations. They provide a central focus in each region
for departmental relations with Congress and promote general
understanding of Department programs, policies, and objectives. They
also advise the Secretary on the potential effects of decisions.

        Regional Offices--Department of Health and Human Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Address (Areas Served)              Director              Telephone
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta, GA, Rm. 1515, 101    Patricia Ford-Roegner.....    404-562-7888
 Marietta Twr., 30323 (AL,
 FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN).
Boston, MA, Rm. 2100,         Judith Kurland............    617-565-1500
 Government Ctr., 02203 (CT,
 MA, ME, NH, RI, VT).
Chicago, IL, 23d Fl., 105 W.  Hannah Rosenthal..........    312-353-5160
 Adams St., 60603 (IL, IN,
 MI, OH, WI).
Dallas, TX, Suite 1124-ORD,   Patricia Montoya..........    214-767-3301
 1301 Young St., 75202-4348
 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX).
Denver, CO, Rm. 1076, 1961    *Margaret Cary.............    303-844-3372
 Stout St., 80294-3538 (CO,
 MT, ND, SD, UT, WY).
Kansas City, MO, Rm. 210,     Kathleen Steele...........    816-426-2821
 601 E. 12th St., 64106 (IA,
 KS, MO, NE).
New York, NY, Rm. 3835, 26    Allison E. Greene.........    212-264-4600
 Federal Plz., 10278 (NJ,
 NY, PR, VI).
Philadelphia, PA, Rm. 11480,  Lynn Yeakel...............    215-596-6492
 3535 Market St., 19104 (DC,
 DE, MD, PA, VA, WV).

[[Page 274]]
San Francisco, CA, Rm. 431,   Grantland Johnson.........    415-437-8500
 50 United Nations Plz.,
 94102 (AS, AZ, CA, GU, HI,
 NV).
Seattle, WA, Rm. 911F, 2201   *Jay Inslee................    206-615-2010
 6th Ave., 98121 (AK, ID,
 OR, WA).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

More thoughts on bringing administrative excellence to the public sector

1. I can see Daschle's value to Obama as a senior advisor in the white house, but I don't see how he has the demonstrated administrative competence or "health and human services" expertise to run that bureacracy.

2. Same with Clinton and the State Department. She seems at most qualified to be an assistant director to the director of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.

3. More qualified people for State are clear. I'm curious who is demonstrably more qualified for HHS (Shalala's top subordinates? People who run the equivalent in large states? Presidents of large research hospital administrations? Top career HHS people? I know the positions to look for them but not the names of the people.)

4. So far all of Obama's economic people are great in qualifications. Holder I have to bregudgingly admit is highly qualified in competency, if not in judgment, although I feel he got spots along the way that should have gone to more qualified people. (did he graduate columbia law with honors? If so, why is it not on his resume?) Reader, you know who I feel is not highly qualified for their positions.

5. What do people get paid in the private sector for running equivalent size organizations in terms of budget and numbers of employees as these bureacracies? The pay should be commesurate to attract the talent.

6. I'd like to see honors programs for elite JD, MPA's in JAG (the military lawyer division) focusing on administrative law, military strategy in the context of international laws of war, and policy. Folks like Obama and Clinton could've been JAG reservists while climbing the ranks of power, but there was no prestige in it for them. Similarly, I'd like to see honors programs that channel them into running for county executive and mayoral positions (honors programs in county administrative law?). A path that graduates from assistant city/county manager, to elected county executive or mayor, to the governorship, while serving as a JAG reservist or national guard member that gets deployed overseas once or twice, will create more experienced presidential candidates for the job of President. Obama and Clinton both seemed to me to take the easiest paths to national power for themselves. So we should make the path that actually builds technocratic presidential competencies easier for the politically ambitious than alternate paths that will have them ruling over us with less optimized technocratic competence.

7.  Bloomberg warmed my technocratic heart in his first administration but he's become an object lesson in the corruption of power. Unfortunately, he seems very unabled by his constituents. And overall the pool running against him is weak on talent and resume. This surprises me because there's so much talent in NYC -but apparently it's concentrated in the private and academic sectors. Check out the 5 borough presidents, they all have weak resumes, and none are intellectuals. In contrast, Houston a mayor that better seems to fit the technocratic ideal (in comparison to the other largest cities of the United States).

8. New York, California, Texas, Florida. None of the governors are great, but at least they're actually running something only one order of magnitude smaller than the United States. They should be the ones we look at first to challenge Obama in 2012. I'm surprised states with more than 20 million citizens couldn't end up with more impressive executives than this bunch. Charlie Christ seems like the most competent of them, but he's far from my ideal.

9. "Senator for life" what an awful phrase. I hope Republicans run on term limits like they did in 1994. Senators should have a 2 term limit, reps a 5 term limit, and Supreme Court justices an 18 term limit in my opinion (the president could appoint a new justice every 2 years).