The politics of service

The charge from President Bill Clinton in the summer of 1995 was urgent and strong: find a way to take the new national service program, AmeriCorps, off the partisan political battlefield. Make it, like the Peace Corps, a nonpartisan source of pride for all Americans. When Clinton left office, he may not have asked the incoming president to take care of AmeriCorps, but he knew that in Texas, Governor Bush had supported the work of his state's national service commission. Clinton was delighted that 49 governors, including those of Texas and Florida, signed a letter circulated by Montana Governor Marc Racicot that supported reauthorizing and strengthening AmeriCorps. Most supporters of national service were nonetheless anxious about the future of AmeriCorps in a Republican administration - until Leslie Lenkowsky was nominated and confirmed as the new CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.