On Jan. 20, 2009, either Republican presidential candidate John McCain or Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will take an oath of office and be sworn in as President of the United States. On Jan. 21, one of those two men will sit down behind their new desk inside the Oval Office and begin their four-year term leading the nation.
No matter how the electoral vote turns out Tuesday night, which states turn blue or red or even who is elected, the next president will face a daunting list of challenges to tackle in their administrations.
The winner of this election must handle an economy stuck in global financial crisis, an army fighting two increasingly unpopular wars and the looming threat of climate change, to name just a few of the issues that will confront the 44th president.
According to three UW-Madison professors, the crisis affecting the world economy will be the most immediate problem.
It is going to really control what they do for probably the first six months or a year in office,"" UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said. ""Whether it's the financial bailout, the up and down of Wall Street, declining home prices, mortgage prices, [the economy] is definitely dominating people's worries at the moment.""
David Canon, UW-Madison political science professor, agrees the economy will be a major issue, but said how the president handles the crisis will depend largely on Tuesday's Congressional elections.
Many experts predict Democrats will maintain their majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Canon said if McCain is elected, he would have a hard time dealing with a Democratic Congress.
""A lot of his economic policies would be dead on arrival,"" he said. ""There are some areas on economic policy where [McCain] would have to give in to the Democrats.""
Canon said if Obama wins Tuesday his legislation would have an easier path through Congress.
UW-Madison history professor Jeremi Suri said American economic problems will become foreign policy issues, and the next president should be prepared to make new diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. Suri said McCain or Obama should ""meet with the leaders of other major economic powers '¦ [to] talk through these issues and come to some common game plan.""
Suri echoed what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a few weeks ago when he suggested the next president and other world leaders create a new Bretton Woods Pact, referring to the global financial institutions created after the second World War to keep the world from experiencing another Great Depression.
""If the United States is able in the next year or so to play an active role as a leader in bringing people together around financial issues,"" Suri said, ""the United States can establish enormous credibility.""
He added that depending on how the new president handles the crisis internationally could affect the War on Terror.
""I think this is a classic case where crisis provides an opportunity for leadership, and with leadership, international leadership, we can get a lot of help in Afghanistan,"" he said.
Burden and Canon agreed the War on Terror will be another important challenge for the next president.
Canon said, like with economic policy, McCain would have a hard time dealing with Democrats in Congress that have tried to push the issue of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq since taking the majority in 2006.
""That would probably be the stickiest issue for Democrats in Congress and the president to deal with,"" Canon said.
Americans will choose Tuesday who they want to lead the nation through these issues once they take office in January. Burden said those challenges will drive participation in this election.
""What is getting people to the polls this time around is there is a lot at stake.""
