Presidential candidates must plan now for how the winner and his staff will make effective use of his early days in office, according to present and former White House staff members interviewed for The White House Interview Program. It is a project funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and designed by presidency scholars to smooth the path to power by furnishing incoming staff with substantive information about White House operations. Seizing early opportunities eases confirmations, furthers the President’s agenda, and affords a new team a valuable reputation for competence. That is the consensus of people who have worked in top White House positions over the course of the Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. In interviews for the project, many of the 69 staff members expressed a common frustration over the difficulty of organizing an administration when the White House they enter is whistle clean. It contains empty desks, no files from their predecessors, and a figurative in-box containing expectations the President will deliver on his promises beginning the moment he enters the Oval Office as Chief Executive. In order to surmount these difficulties and get a fast start as well, both candidates and their teams need to plan early for governing. Early Opportunities and Hazards