Not the first time an Administration has had a rough start and Star Wars (S.D.I.)

Recent events in the first two weeks of the Trump Administration is not the first time a Presidential Administration has faced a rough start to the beginnings of their terms. These "rough" starts are not equal in magnitude or potential long terms effects but they do illustrate that there is a learning curve from the transition period. Excellent works that deal with these periods include Hedrick Smith's The Power Game and David Gergen's Eyewitness to Power.

1977: President Carter's staff wanted to maintain such an Anti-Washington aurora in the White House that they alienated fellow Democrat Speaker of the House Tip O'Neal by giving him a nosebleed seat at Carter's inauguration. Not having an organized staff at the beginning was also problematic. There is an account that one of Carter's aides started to lead a staff meeting on January 20, 1977, because he figured he was the oldest one in the room and he could.

Needless to say, President Reagan (another Washington outsider) and his people learned what not to do from the Carter experience and made attempts to cultivate positive relationships with everyone and organized a very professional staff (complete with Deputy Secretaries) ready to go on day one.


1993: President Clinton stepped into political quicksand by saying he intended to take away discrimination against gays in the military. Although it may seem odd to most today, it was a hot button issue that cost President Clinton (who won the popular vote with only 43 percent of the vote) a lot of political capital (even among conservative members of his own party like former Senator Sam Nunn)  as he was about to launch the drive for his economic and health care programs.

Now there is one example from the third year of the Reagan Administration that is also illustrative here. Without wide consultation with department heads and political and global allies across the spectrum, President Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative (S.D.I. or Star Wars as it was known). Like President Trump's executive order, S.D.I. was met with awe and skepticism. Although it would have the long-term effect of helping bring Soviet Leader Gorbachev to the negotiating table on arms reduction, it was not well received when first announced and was mocked on most news shows.

The common factor between all these events is that before execution, it is more prudent to adequately vet these policies/ideas (positive or negative, right or wrong)  for short and long term ramifications before carrying them out