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Similarly, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is with another Washington research
organization, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Also at CSIS is former Ambassador to the U.N. and to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. Similar
examples can be found in other Washington 'think tanks.'
Ambassador Bolton says this is a normal -- and logical -- aspect of the Washington policy process.
"For people like myself who have the luxury of coming back to a research institute, it is a way to
'recharge our batteries' intellectually," Bolton said. "It is a way to think about policy without
having the day-to-day responsibility of making it, or recommending it, or discussing it in the
governmental context. And, I think [that] from the point of view of the overall effectiveness of the
American government, that is a very, very important contribution that the 'think tanks' make."
At The Center for American Progress, Chief Operating Officer Neera Tanden says being out of
power actually caused her research organization to be created.
"Under First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, I was one of her domestic policy advisors. And, when
she decided to run for the Senate [in 2000], I worked for her then," explained Tanden. "But then,
when we came out of power [with the election of Republican George W. Bush], we recognized -Hillary recognized, [former White House Chief of Staff] John Podesta recognized, [and now
former] President Clinton recognized there was no organization that worked across issues to try
and move the debate over the long term in a more progressive direction. That is one of the reasons
why I, along with John Podesta, started the Center for American Progress."
While many Washington research organizations have a number of people who served in previous
presidential administrations, Jeffrey Hiday says the so-called "revolving door" is smaller, and