“Former Navy Secretary and Ambassador Bill Middendorf added that there must be a better way to prepare for real change in a more conservative direction in the political environment in Washington. If a conservative candidate were to become the President-elect in just 16 months, what could be done by an outside group to prepare for these new opportunities? The staff at Heritage took this idea on as a challenge, and it would become the defining policy decision in the early history of this upstart think tank. Task forces of knowledgeable volunteers were formed with specific expertise in the whole range of policy issues—from welfare reform to national defense reform.”