ABSTRACT
Of all the parts of the president’s advisory system, the cabinet is clearly the most visible and generally the most understood. Unlike the White House staff and the assorted parts of the Executive Office of the President, the president’s cabinet is frequently in the public eye. As a result, the public knows who the members of the cabinet are and understands the role that members of the cabinet play. When asked who the secretary of defense is, many people can identify the secretary of defense by name and can give a fairly solid overview of the responsibilities of the job. Similarly, when asked who the attorney general is and what the responsibilities of the job are, a majority of people would have a very good idea. In contrast, if you ask the average person who the president’s chief of staff is or who the director of the Office of Management and Budget is, relatively few people would know.
