A Voice of Moderation Moves to the White House

On April 9, 1969, 300 students stormed University Hall and evicted administrators from their offices.

In response to the protesters' cry of "smash ROTC, no expansion," some administrators left peacefully, while others were carried out and forcibly ejected from the building.

Among the waves of activist and youthful vigor that permeated the student body in 1969, Franklin Delano Raines '71 remained a calm voice of moderation.

From the steps of Widener, Raines delivered a speech recommending that students avoid conflicts with faculty during the occupation of University Hall.

Raines led the "moderate" students' cause, organizing meetings for students and making recommendations to the faculty--offering a voice that was reasonable, rational and respectable.

For Raines, success and leadership through moderation have always come naturally. Today, the first marshal of the Class of 1971 is poised to become the next director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Clinton.

As director of the OMB, Raines will assist Clinton in the development and execution of policies and programs and will be involved with the resolution of all budget, policy and management issues on behalf of the president.

If Raines is confirmed as expected later this month to replace Alice M. Rivlin, he will be the first black director of the OMB.

Raines currently serves as vice chair of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), a quasi-public organization that works toward expanding home ownership possibilities.

A Pathmaker

Raines appears to have been marked for greatness since his early teen years.

In high school, Raines served as president of the student body and earned a reputation as a budding academic.

Rick Nagel, a U.S. history teacher at Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington, remembers Raines as a charismatic individual with deep convictions who captivated the student body when he spoke.

"He had a unique blend of a sense of humor, seriousness of purpose and concern for the world," Nagel says, adding that he has never held a student in higher esteem than Raines during his 30-year career at Franklin.

The committee on admissions of Harvard College also recognized Raines' potential immediately. In 1967, the members of the admissions committee named Raines a National Scholar, one of the top 50 students of the incoming first-year class.

He did not let them down. Raines immediately became involved in the leadership of a variety of political and social organizations on campus, serving as chair of the Student-Faculty Advisory Council (SFAC) and vice president of the Freshman Council.

Raines also belonged to the Association of African and Afro-American students and The Harvard Independent, as well as more general political groups like the Harvard Political Union.

The Freshman Council was where he met his lifelong friend Glen Howard '71. Howard says he was immediately impressed by Raines' confidence and eloquence that initially "scared the rest of us to death."

Howard says he was equally as impressed with Raines' "hell of a good" rendition of the monster mash, a well-known dance of the 1960s.

As chair of SFAC, Raines was among the first undergraduates in the history of the College invited to speak at a faculty meeting. Raines' speech opposing the use of police against the 1969 student rioters drew an ovation from the audience and was widely considered the most effective and eloquent speech delivered at that historic meeting.

Raines' friends predicted he would be the first black president of the United States and often held late-night discussions about how to allocate cabinet positions among themselves when that happened, Howard says. Raines' election by his peers as first marshal of the Class of 1971 is further evidence that he was held in high esteem by all.

And even today, the prospect of a Raines presidency is not unrealistic, given Raines' "remarkable thoughts, perspective and background that he brings to a situation, and the apparent effectiveness of his approach to a variety of situations," says Jeffrey Nebel '71, who roomed with Raines for four years in college.

Raines' opportunity to work in Clinton's cabinet as director of the OMB is thus not surprising to his friends. Leeland Cole-Chu '71, another four-year roommate, credits Raines' recent nomination to his dedication to public service, high energy, incisiveness of thought and speech and honesty.

"That combination was bound to carry him to wherever he wanted, which in his case is a reasonably secure lifestyle in public service," Cole-Chu says.

Nebel also stresses Raines' tremendous commitment to public service throughout his academic and post-academic careers.

The financial hit that Raines will take to assume the OMB position is indicative of his strong motivation toward public service, Nebel says.

Raines' earnings last year at Fannie Mae totalled $2.25 million, according to various news reports. His new post will net him $148,000 per year.

Interestingly, Raines, Nebel and Cole-Chu held a "boys' weekend" together at Raines' country home in Pennsylvania that coincided with the weekend of Raines' nomination announcement.

Sterling Career

After receiving an A.B. in government from the College, Raines continued to impress. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Magdalen College at Oxford and went on to earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

After finishing his formal education, Raines began a long and distinguished career in public service. Between 1977 and 1979, he served in the OMB as associate director for economics and government and as assistant director of the White House policy staff under the Carter administration.

More recently, Raines was part of a transition team for Clinton, heading clusters involving finance and international trade. He also assisted Vice President Al Gore '69 with the National Performance Review, an effort directed at streamlining and improving the efficiency of government.

Following his tenure in the Carter Administration, Raines joined and became the youngest partner of the investment banking firm of Lazard Freres & Co. He currently serves as the vice chair of Fannie Mae, and he is credited with moving the agency into the technological future.

In addition to his current position at Fannie Mae, Raines serves on the Board of Directors of Pfizer Inc. and The Boeing Company. He is Chair of the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and was the former president of the Board of Trustees of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

When asked the secret of his success, Raines says he abides by two mottoes in his endeavors: "Luck is preparation meeting opportunity;" and "Live your life with the expectation that one day it will be printed on the front page of the New York Times."