The circumstances of the 2000–2001 presidential transition will neverbe repeated, or at least I hope not for the sake of all concerned.Nevertheless, what we planned and what actually happened are highlyrelevant to future transition efforts. Most observers agree that theBush-Cheney Administration got off to a strong start in large partbecause it made good use of the time available to it during theabbreviated transition period. Understanding this may help futurepresidents-elect plan their own transitions.