Democracy and the Next Generation: An Interview with Eric Schultz, Senior Advisor to President Obama
Democracy and the Next Generation: An Interview with Eric Schultz, Senior Advisor to President Obama
GRI’s Basim Al-Ahmadi sat down with Eric Schultz, President Obama’s current Senior Advisor, to discuss his previous role in the White House, advice for aspiring public servants, Obama’s post-presidential vision and other important topics.
Introduction to Eric Schultz
Eric Schultz is the Founder & President of The Schultz Group and a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama.
During the Obama Administration, Schultz served as White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, speaking on behalf of the Administration on Air Force One and in the White House briefing room, and managing the Administration’s proactive messaging and news-of-the-day responses. Schultz was originally hired by the White House to handle the Administration’s response to congressional oversight investigations, gaining recognition in Politico as the strategist “White House officials turn to in a crisis to handle communications.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
GRI
What motivated you to enter public service?
Schultz
My dad was an elected official in our town and the news was always on in our house, and so as a family, we would be talking about current events and what was happening both in our local community, our country and around the world quite frequently. I certainly think that the private sector plays a role in shaping the world we live in, but I wanted to have the experience of working for government. I believe having a seat at the table where public policy decisions are made is irreplicable outside of government.
GRI
President Obama empowered young staff members and advisors, whether it was Jon Favreau, Ben Rhodes, or yourself. Do you feel that President Obama consciously made the effort to balance surrounding himself with both young and more experienced advisors?
Schultz
It has to be a healthy mix. President Obama, having not been a creature of the Washington establishment, and by the very nature of his candidacy, victory, and presidency, it only seemed natural that he was going to usher in a new generation of talent. There is a lot to be said for people who have experience in Washington. If you look at the team that President Obama assembled, he relied heavily on people who had deep expertise and had been in Washington for a long time, but he also knew the value of new talent, new ideas and new ways of thinking through challenges. And I think that is the reason his presidency was so successful, because he effectively balanced both of those – experience and fresh perspectives – and the results speak for themselves.
I think that he himself embodied a youthful turn-the-page moment on a lot of conventional Washington thinking, and that is how he was elected — he up-ended conventional thinking. That was his mandate, which guided his Presidency.
GRI
What advice would you give to aspiring public servants who want to make a difference?
Schultz
My advice is to get in the arena. There is a role for journalists. There is a role for activists. There is a role for the private sector. Everyone can play a role to make sure that democracy functions as well as it can. But if you are interested in being in a seat of power, then you should jump on any role that is available to you. My experience in government was not static – young staffers can move up and around as long as they are good at their jobs. Important work flows to those who do it well. There is too much work to go around for anyone to suffer fools. And so, if you are good at what you do, and have a “no job too small, no job too large” mentality, you are going to rise to the top. As long as you realise public service is not about you, and you are in it for the greater good, then you are going to be in a position of increasing importance.
GRI
How do you counter the scepticism from some young people who would prefer to work in the private sector as they are concerned the public sector might be too bureaucratic and slow moving?
Schultz
I would say to some degree, they are right. There is a reason that government moves slowly, methodically, and cautiously. It is because we have enormous weight around the world. The words of the President can move the stock market, alienate allies, mobilise armies. As a staffer, you do have to be careful and thoughtful about what you say. That does not make it any less important. Working in government can be hard and challenging and there are undeniable institutional constraints. But I do not think anyone would ever complain of being bored. It is not a slow place to work. The challenges we face, especially now, are very big. If you care about democracy, your country, and the world, it is an all-hands-on deck moment.
GRI
How was your transition from working in the White House to your current role – was it difficult to adjust to a new pace and intensity?
Schultz
I think it is hard – I think that a lot of us who worked in the White House under President Obama had this once in a lifetime experience that we will never have again. A lot of that comes from the team we were working with, and the extraordinary people and talent that we were able to be in the trenches with, and it is hard to replicate that level of brilliance, dedication, and selflessness.
GRI
Do you miss the camaraderie?
Schultz
Yes. The camaraderie and the ethos that we are all in this together, that we will rise and fall on each other’s shoulders. It is the animating driver of our work as public servants.
GRI
How much of a role did the President play in forging that team spirit?
Schultz
The President sets the tone. He is the one who creates the ethos that we all subscribe to. President Obama had a zero-tolerance policy for bullshit, drama, and anyone who was not putting their best foot forward. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew we were in this together and were to operate as a team and as a family.
I think for the President, he knew that nobody held themselves to more account than we did for ourselves. So, if there was a disappointment, he was the one who would take responsibility. He had absolute confidence that we were all trying our best and knew our success and setbacks were collective moments.
GRI
How did President Obama deal with groupthink?
Schultz
President Obama was very concerned about groupthink. He was very intentional about creating an environment where people felt free to disagree with each other and with him. That is why the team he assembled has been called a ‘Team of Rivals’ – he appointed Secretary Clinton, as Secretary of State and Joe Biden, as his Vice President, both of whom were opponents during the Democratic Presidential Primary elections in 2008. The President wanted to make sure that he was not surrounded by a bunch of “Yes, men and women”, but instead by people who were best-in-class.
The President wanted to make sure that he was getting the best information possible, because he thought that that was the only way to make a sound decision. If there was a decision-making meeting, or policy meeting conversation in the Oval Office, and his chief advisors were sitting around the table, discussing, and deliberating, it was very common for him to call on someone in the back who was young and probably did not have a close relationship, or any relationship, with the President. He wanted to make sure that the young staffers who were in the grind of the work, also had a chance to speak up. He was very deliberate about making sure that people who were not part of his senior advisors also had strong voices inside the White House.
GRI
Could you tell us a bit more about the inspirational work of the Obama Foundation?
Schultz
In terms of the post presidency, Obama has an entire constellation of activities that he is working on, most principally, building-out the Obama Foundation, which is focused on civic engagement. If you look at the problems that plague democracies around the world, I think one of the common adversaries we have is apathy. President Obama is particularly excited about the mission of the Obama Foundation because it seeks to identify, support, and lift up those who are creating change and making their communities a better place. The President wants to be in a position where he can help support the next generation of leaders who are carving out their own path.
GRI
How important is it for young people to enter politics?
Schultz
It is so important – democracy truly will die if we do not replenish it with people who are talented, go into politics for the right reasons and are dedicated to the cause. I think that there is an endless array of ways to give back. Public service is one of them but it is so fundamental for the endurance of democracy.
GRI
What are your proudest moments working for President Obama in the White House?
Schultz
I am proudest of the general movement under President Obama to make our country a more just and inclusive place for everyone. That includes building a more fair economy, extending affordable and accessible health care to 20 million people who previously did not have it, expanding rights for people who traditionally had to fight hard for them. He did all of this under unprecedented scrutiny, profoundly challenging circumstances, and without a single scandal like those that had become too commonplace among recent Administrations. For eight years, he led with integrity, compassion, and a drive to bring hope and change to every corner of the country.
-Edited by GRI’s Basim Al-Ahmadi and Portia Kentish
