ABSTRACT
In the Jimmy Carter administration, Hamilton Jordan, the president's assistant for political affairs, has had a major role in the appointment of key political officials. Members of Carter's staff have been concerned with removing Nixon-Ford loyalists and appointing instead people who share their own ideology, political party affiliation, and personal loyalty to the president. President Carter announced in November 1977 that he was extending the political appointment process to include the directors of other federal agencies in the regions. Alan K. Campbell was presiding over a total review of the federal personnel system—the Personnel Reorganization Project, a major priority of President Carter. Using outside salaries as an indicator of qualifications was a very special problem for the Carter administration. President Carter may have had a more significant impact on the appointments than his predecessors, at least in terms of the broad-based nature of the appointments.
