ABSTRACT
Commissions represent a special kind of response, and it would seem that their structure—commissioners, staff resources, and duration—would indicate some preconceptions on the part of the president concerning the best way to proceed. The circumstances that surround the creation of commissions are quite complex. Commissions created by Executive Order or statute are considered to be responses to high-demand issues, while creation by other means is taken as evidence of low-demand issues. The administrations of and the commissions appointed by the five presidents studied varied over time, and they varied with the personality and political power of the incumbent. Many of the commissions reported the freely donated services of commissioners, staff members, and advisers along with support from various private and federal sources. The number dissenting from the commission findings ranged from none to seventeen of the twenty-nine members of the Commission on International Trade and Investment Policy.
