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Mr. No - The White House Ethics Guru
Monday, March 16th, 2009
Robert Wechsler
There's a
great article in Friday's Washington Post about Pres. Obama's ethics
guru, Norm Eisen. It provides an excellent picture of what it means to
be an ethics adviser, which is summed up in Eisen's nickname, Mr. No.
Government ethics appears to move slowly, but Eisen's working life is so far primarily a series of emergencies. That means the ethics program is working, because people are asking for advice before they act.
In 2003, Eisen founded Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, an independent anti-government corruption organization focused on the federal government. "The chance to deal with ethics issues before the fact -- not after -- appealed to him, he said."
That's really what government ethics is all about, and why having a good ethics training program as well as one or more ethics officers, to give quick advice, is so important. There's always the city or county attorney, but they are trained to find ways to get things done, not ways to say no to people they work with and are politically aligned with, who are begging for permission to do what they suspect isn't kosher.
"Sometimes my job is to scare the bejesus out of everybody," Eisen told the Post.
Eisen knows how to cut through the crap. In going through the Code of Federal Regulations ethics provisions, "he crossed out rules in pencil that he planned to change. No longer, he decided, could White House employees receive small gifts, honorary degrees or awards from lobbyists. 'No way,' he said. 'Some of these things are just scams.'" Something everyone knows, and few people are willing to say.
Eisen also runs group training sessions, though who knows where he finds the time. He doesn't waste his time going into too much detail. "You're not going to understand all the rules. It's too complicated. So you use your common sense. How's this going to look on the front page of The Washington Post?"
He also recognize the process that slowly corrupts government officials.
Media focus has been on the Obama Administration waivers, and this coverage has certainly curtailed exceptions to the rules. It's refreshing to see who is drafting the new rules, the training people in them, and making sure they are enforced. Local governments need their own ethics gurus. If only there were enough Eisens to go around, not to mention funds to hire them and the perception of value in having lawyers like them around, not to litigate, but to keep government officials' accomplishments on the front page, rather than their scandals.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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Government ethics appears to move slowly, but Eisen's working life is so far primarily a series of emergencies. That means the ethics program is working, because people are asking for advice before they act.
In 2003, Eisen founded Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, an independent anti-government corruption organization focused on the federal government. "The chance to deal with ethics issues before the fact -- not after -- appealed to him, he said."
That's really what government ethics is all about, and why having a good ethics training program as well as one or more ethics officers, to give quick advice, is so important. There's always the city or county attorney, but they are trained to find ways to get things done, not ways to say no to people they work with and are politically aligned with, who are begging for permission to do what they suspect isn't kosher.
"Sometimes my job is to scare the bejesus out of everybody," Eisen told the Post.
Eisen knows how to cut through the crap. In going through the Code of Federal Regulations ethics provisions, "he crossed out rules in pencil that he planned to change. No longer, he decided, could White House employees receive small gifts, honorary degrees or awards from lobbyists. 'No way,' he said. 'Some of these things are just scams.'" Something everyone knows, and few people are willing to say.
Eisen also runs group training sessions, though who knows where he finds the time. He doesn't waste his time going into too much detail. "You're not going to understand all the rules. It's too complicated. So you use your common sense. How's this going to look on the front page of The Washington Post?"
He also recognize the process that slowly corrupts government officials.
There are a lot of people who
don't set out to say, 'I'm going to break the rules.' They kind of take
a baby step. Then they get in a little deeper, they realize they might
have messed up, and they don't tell anybody. Suddenly, you're in
serious trouble. I'm not saying that one dinner a lobbyist buys for you
at the
Ritz-Carlton is going to result in an outright bribe. But does it make
you a little more inclined to take his call? To hold a meeting? Do
years of those dinners and golf retreats weaken you a little bit?
Media focus has been on the Obama Administration waivers, and this coverage has certainly curtailed exceptions to the rules. It's refreshing to see who is drafting the new rules, the training people in them, and making sure they are enforced. Local governments need their own ethics gurus. If only there were enough Eisens to go around, not to mention funds to hire them and the perception of value in having lawyers like them around, not to litigate, but to keep government officials' accomplishments on the front page, rather than their scandals.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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