Memo to President Barack Obama (page 2 of 3)

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Courtesy of the United States Senate

President-Elect Barack Obama

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"Honor An American Hero"
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French philosopher and writer. His most recent book is Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism.

One of your first acts should be to have erected in the center of Karachi, Pakistan, a monument in memory of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was kidnapped and killed there.

It would render justice to one of today's great American heroes. And it would test the true reliability of Pakistan as our ally. Read more advice.

"Invest in the Nation's Health"
Richard H. Carmona, MD, was the U.S. surgeon general from 2002 to 2006 and is now president of the Canyon Ranch Institute.

Our nation needs a cultural transformation-a comprehensive move from a "sick care" system to a true health care system. First and foremost, this means investing in prevention.

Individuals can prevent disease by eating healthy foods in healthy portions, eliminating tobacco, and being physically active. We must encourage them to do so. As a society, prevention means managing chronic diseases to prevent catastrophic illnesses, changing our nation's reimbursement system to motivate patients and health professionals to practice preventive care, and involving employers in improving their employees' health and wellness.

The strength of our great nation is in the good health of its people. A recent study by Trust for America's Health found that if we spent $10 per person per year on proven prevention strategies, the United States could save $16 billion annually within five years. I ask that you add that $10-per-person prevention plan to the federal budget.

Improving the health and well-being of the American people is always a good investment. Read more advice.

"Stop the Cycle of Debt"
Robert D. Hormats is a former assistant secretary of state and current vice chairman of Goldman Sachs (International).

For the past two decades, the United States sidestepped many needed economic reforms. Too many of us engaged in wishful thinking, believing that the rapid rise in federal budget deficits and debt accumulation would be reversed on its own.

The budget deficit will rise in the near term as the result of the legislation passed last fall to stabilize the financial markets. The numbers will be large, but the programs are needed.

It is the deficits expected in future decades, however, that will present a more ominous problem. Years after the current crises have passed, the country could face even more severe difficulties if the government repeatedly spends far more than it takes in. The threat is not only financial. Chronic, large, and growing budget imbalances and the resulting massive debt will weaken our national security as well as our ability to meet future domestic and international crises—and will impose huge burdens on our children and grandchildren. Read more advice.

"Be Like Ike"
Jonathan Rauch is a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution.

Just two words of advice: Emulate Eisenhower.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is regarded as the boring president of a boring decade. In fact, those times-with major crises in Taiwan, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East-were scarier than ours. Ike also had to close out a stalemated war, bring West Germany into a fledgling NATO, and cope with the threat of nuclear annihilation by the Soviets. And Eisenhower made it all look boring-by projecting calm and playing golf, eschewing dramatic gestures and grandiose reforms, and governing resolutely from the center. He understood that a president can more easily do harm than good, that a strong leader nurtures rather than fractures consensus, and that power has its own natural hydraulics, which not even a president can defy.

As Gil Troy shows in Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents, moderation is not about splitting the difference between extremes; it is a coherent strategy all its own and one that has succeeded better than the flashier alternatives. For all its exhausting eventfulness, the current administration has solved few if any of the major problems it inherited. Our next president needs to do the reverse, destabilizing less while solving more. Like Ike. Read more advice.

"Fight Extreme Poverty"
Helene D. Gayle, MD, is president and CEO of CARE USA.

Rising food prices brought down a prime minister in Haiti. Lack of hope and education has made desperate people susceptible to violence. Natural resource scarcity and environmental degradation, exacerbated by climate change, have fueled war and genocide. To find peaceful solutions to our global challenges, we must ensure that everyone has basic necessities and the freedom to pursue a better life without violence or repression.

To tackle poverty at its roots, our most vital investments should be in women. The backbone of many communities, they represent an untapped resource. Their efforts as farmers, wage earners, and caregivers can assure the well-being of families and the success of future generations. Given tools, education, and opportunities, they will transform many lives.

People in the developing world cannot afford extreme poverty, and neither can we. Together, we can change this condition. Strong leadership will help us do it faster. Read more advice.

"Remake the Bully Pulpit"
Michael D. McCurry was White House press secretary from 1995 to 1998.

Nothing will help you or threaten your success more than how well you communicate with the American people. The "bully pulpit" of the presidency, as Theodore Roosevelt called it, needs a remake because we are still using some of the same communication techniques that date back to his presidency.

First, abolish the practice of holding a single televised daily press briefing at the White House. No matter how witty and attractive the press secretary might be, he or she cannot become a daytime-television star. The press secretary needs to orchestrate a great symphony of public information. We need more data and facts to get out the door, less spin and message control, more experts in government across all agencies talking about what they know best.

Second, look at what is popular on TV: reality shows. Make the White House one. I attended very few meetings and briefings that could not have been carried live on television. They would have reassured the American public that the president gets good information from smart people. (Or maybe they would have shown citizens how confined the bubble of the Oval Office can be.) More transparency will restore trust in government. So let's let Americans watch more of it.

Third, make sure Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court, and government agencies get equal time. That means upgrading the competence of all those communicating the work of government. Let's have hundreds of great press secretaries in Washington, not just one at the White House. Read more advice.

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