Quoting Brennan: "The overarching recommendation to the Obama administration, on issues both in my field and outside, is to solicit and be open to the best advice from the smartest people one can find.  In considering their advice, be willing to look at policies 'outside the box,' specifically, outside the constricted boundaries set by years of partisan and interest-group bickering."

Her co-edited book on climate change litigation is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, and her articles have been published and are forthcoming in a variety of journals, including the Washington University Law Quarterly, Villanova Law Review, Chicago Journal of International Law, Stanford Environmental Law Journal, Stanford Journal of International Law, Virginia Journal of International Law, and Yale Journal of International Law.

Quoting Osofsky: "The Obama Administration's commitment to participating in climate change treaty negotiations, supporting significant legislation on climate change, and constructing a comprehensive energy policy represents a major step forward on these issues.  In addition to the challenges posed by the economy and by situating the United States amid other major emitters, the administration needs to grapple with the ways in which the problem of climate change cross-cuts multiple levels of government.  A successful climate policy must create opportunities for constructive interaction among key actors at local, state, national and international levels."

Quoting Schweikart: "What President Obama should concentrate on during his first 100 days and what he will concentrate on are completely different. What we need immediately is supply-side tax relief and fiscal constraint — but what the Democrats have promised is even more spending, including phenomenal new expenditures in health care and demand-side 'stimulus' cuts that never stimulate anything. What we need is open dissent and a careful investigation of Obama's plans and policies, but what we are likely to get is the clamping down on critical voices through the "Fairness Doctrine."

Anderson said, "It will be interesting to see the extent to which government supports industry.  We already see other  industries such as the automobile sector asking for similar assistance as was given to the financial sector. There is the potential for other large firms to ask for assistance as well--Majority Leader Pelosi has already discussed an 'application process'--so it will be imperative that President-elect Obama be prepared to address each situation with a long-term focus rather than a 'knee-jerk' reaction."

From an Oct. 29 CNN article.

"The U.S. had no central bank in 1907 and had resisted the notion since the days of President Andrew Jackson. But the growing financial demands of modern society changed the minds of consumers, businesspeople and eventually Congress.

"Virtually every financial crisis in the past 100 years has been followed by hearings, civil and criminal litigation, and ultimately, new laws and regulations. Each new crisis reveals new challenges to the public welfare.

"This crisis will be no different. Leaders from the G20, a group representing the world's largest economies, will meet November 15 to design new global regulations to forestall future financial crises. But what will the leaders regulate that hasn't been regulated before? How should they do it? And what should they avoid?

"The current crisis overshadows previous crises in four key ways: complexity, inflexibility, speed and scale. …" 

DePaul said, "President-elect Obama has several important challenges regarding education at all levels.  During the campaign, he emphasized the importance of early childhood education and it will be critical for him to identify effective programs and support these with sufficient resources to insure that all children come to school ready to learn.  A second critical challenge is to work with the education community to improve the performance of our public schools as they struggle to meet the needs of a growingly diverse population."

Feiss said, "The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act is in urgent need of suspension and overhaul. The education of our next generation of citizens is at stake, as its mandates sacrifice in the most critical areas of learning in favor of a narrow range of testable skills. No agenda that properly addresses the crises of today can afford to overlook the development of the problem-solvers of tomorrow." 

"One of the first pieces of legislation to emerge under George W. Bush’s presidency, the No Child Left Behind Act (a.k.a. NCLB), sounded like the very thing to reform the savage inequalities in America’s educational system. Since its inception in 2001, it has failed to live up to its name. In fact, its impact has been quite the opposite. The statute’s reliance on test results and misguided teacher accountability guidelines is crippling educational opportunities for our next generation of citizens. It discourages untestable learning experiences (a category that includes a great deal of valuable learning), drives away masses of creative and insightful teachers, and pushes countless dedicated and innovative administrators out of practice. Stories abound about NCLB’s impacts on people and students. A talented special needs teacher loses certification because her own learning disability in advanced math repeatedly blocks her passing the Praxis test. Rigid regulations require her developmentally disabled students to achieve learning goals that would astonish any neuroscientist; a situation that exacerbates these children’s anxiety and poor self-esteem. Kindergarten teachers are pressured and even mandated to replace active learning with paper-and-pencil work. Science instructional time is slashed, social studies is eliminated entirely in many cases, and art, music, foreign language, and physical education are all on the chopping block. Recess play is displaced by seatwork, at a time when obesity among American youth is increasing at an alarming rate. These examples represent a mere fraction of the devastation that NCLB wreaks daily on our children’s learning and development. The urgency to reform this bill cannot be understated. The seven years since it passed represent a chunk of time spanning half of a student’s entire journey through the public schools. Failing its immediate reform, we risk sacrificing the education and healthy development of an entire generation of Americans. These are the future citizens who are charged with solving a host of the monumental problems we face: resolving global environmental degradation, addressing a looming energy crunch, solving a growing health crisis, and forging peace and reconciliation among an economically and culturally divided global populace. These issues demand the very skills of creativity, community involvement, and scientific and cultural literacy that NCLB banishes from our students’ education. The No Child Left Behind Act must be suspended, and ultimately, overhauled completely. The stakes are high and the clock is ticking. Our new leadership must roll up their sleeves and fix this broken law."

Quoting Lasley: "President-elect Obama needs to reaffirm the importance of No Child Left Behind and begin the process of determining what parts of the legislation can be achieved, even if sufficient funds are unavailable. NCLB established a clear framework for ensuring that every P-12 student would graduate with the requisite skills for competing successfully in a global economy. Dismantling the legislative mandate would constitute a policy disaster. Though the legislation clearly has problems, it has really focused practitioners and policymakers on questions around the adequacy and sufficiency of the educational delivery systems throughout the U.S."

Here's an excerpt from a recent op-ed Pianta wrote to President-elect Obama.

"Education represents a cost in the short term but an investment in the long term that research suggests pays off manifold. I hope you will stand up to those who see education as a lower priority than health care or the economy. It's not. If you get it right on education, some of these other problems may solve themselves.

"We need to move to a balanced view of a teacher's role and a set of contingencies for performance that assure parents that our children are likely to learn in public school classrooms. We can measure good teaching, and those measures can help produce effective teachers and ensure that children have opportunities to learn in every K-12 classroom in America."

His advice to President-elect Obama: "He should convene a small, bipartisan group of governors, some of whom have been leaders in standards-based education reform in their states, to start a dialogue to develop a national and federal strategy for improving schools to meet the challenge of global competition."

Quoting Rush: "This election has transformed the American political landscape. Key states such as Indiana and Virginia voted Democratic for the first time in over a generation.  Obama's margin of victory in those states was razor thin, however.  He and the Democratic Party will need to strengthen their base in those battleground states in order to retain their majority.  The Obama majority is a true blue-state majority comprised of young voters, minorities and the east and west coasts.  With his victory, a younger, forward-looking generation signaled its desire to put partisanship and racial issues behind it in order to build a new, pragmatic majority coalition that will address issues ranging from the environment, to election reform to international security and foreign policy in a new light."

"Look for Obama to make his most visible impact with his Supreme Court appointments.  Don't be surprised if Ginsburg and Stevens announce their retirements soon."

Settle said, "The new administration will have to decide what role nuclear power will play in supplying the U. S. energy requirements and mitigating global climate change. Its decisions on the sources and amount of funding for the nuclear industry will determine the future of the industry. Another related decision is whether to adapt the closed nuclear fuel cycle after years of embracing the open cycle. Finally, a decision on the fate of the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, nuclear waste repository looms on the horizon."

"I would hope the Obama administration would initiate strong energy legislation that would reduce, over time, our consumption of fossil fuels to encourage energy independence, develop green technologies, and that those legislative actions will go hand-in-hand with strong climate change policy," she says.

Webber, along with colleagues in geosciences and public policy, is drafting recommendations for the next U.S. administration on how best to structure energy policy. The white paper is being funded by the Markle Foundation. In a May 2008 op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman, Webber wrote: "Despite soaring rhetoric about oil addiction, energy security, energy independence, and getting off Middle East oil, our energy policy amounts to nothing more than begging the Saudis to pump more crude."

Sahagian said, "First and foremost he should immediately begin reducing, and soon stopping GHG emissions altogether. There may be reversal needed as well. How would he do this? Obama suggested that there would be millions of new jobs in renewable energy sectors. He can start by matching the budgets of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense – one to increase, the other to decrease." "Also, Obama is concerned with public education, as are we all. He can help remove the No Child Left Behind shackles from schools so that they can properly educate children. Environmental, and indeed ALL science education, has taken it on the chin due to No Child Left Behind."

She can discuss the evolving role of presidential first wives and how the position may continue to evolve during Michelle Obama’s tenure in the White House. Olson has examined the role of first wives and teaches relevant courses including "Presidential First Wives and the Politics of Their Times" and "The American Presidency." She has spoken previously on the topic with various media outlets.

Bosia said, “A balanced response to globalization, to meet human needs  while avoiding trade wars, must be top down and bottom up.  As he did in building a political movement during the campaign, President-elect Obama needs to approach globalization on three levels: working with countries, most importantly France and the European Union, that often challenge the American approach, in order to find consensus; reaching out to global civil society movements, especially with regard to issues of survival and sustainability such as food sovereignty and public health; and convening the most respected experts from a diversity of perspectives.”  

Quoting Drumbl: "In his victory speech, President-elect Obama stated his goal for the U.S. to return to its leadership role in international affairs. What does that mean for international law? There is considerable anticipation that the Obama Administration will support the Geneva Conventions and will close Gitmo; abjure torture; integrate the U.S. in climate change treaties; and even revisit the International Criminal Court. As a former law professor, Obama certainly sees the power of law. But as a pragmatist, he also recognizes the limits of law. Will these two dynamics create positive synergy or, on the other hand, negative tension?"

Quoting Franck: "In a globalized economy, international economic law is no longer a potted plant growing quietly in the closet. It is at the forefront of the American political agenda. Obama's administration will have its hands full tackling a range of complex issues from the global financial crisis, to NAFTA, China and beyond. In debates with McCain and Clinton, international economics, trade and investment - and their implications upon our domestic economy - were in the spotlight. Obama made clear that his approach to international economic issues involved 'change'. Precisely what that change entails remains to be seen. On the global financial crisis, Obama will need to determine whether to work on a domestic or multi-lateral level with other governments to address common concerns related to financial liquidity. Another fundamental issue will be whether to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade agreements, such as the U.S.-Columbia Free Trade Agreement, that are currently on the table. If they stick with the approach articulated during the campaign, an Obama administration is likely to re-balance treaties to provide for enhanced protection of labor and the environment.

"Economic relations with China also demand attention. Obama's team will need to look carefully at health and safety standards related to Chinese imports, the effect of Chinese trade on domestic industries, and whether the Chinese government is improperly manipulating its currency to the detriment of the United States consumers and businesses. Beyond this, an Obama administration may toughen up the enforcement of existing trade laws at both the international level (i.e., WTO) and the domestic level."

Quoting Strong: "The new administration will have to decide what to do about Iran, North Korea and the future of the non-proliferation regime.  Efforts to secure nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union will continue to demand attention.  This is an issue where Obama worked with Senator Lugar, a long-time promoter of efforts to reduce the dangers of so-called loose nukes. Strained relations with Russia will make it harder for the U.S. to pursue these objectives."

Jost said, "Recent polls show that most Americans believe that our current economic difficulties are a reason to move ahead quickly with health care reform, not an excuse for delaying it. As we move forward, we should consider the experience of other developed countries, all of which have been able to provide universal access to health care while spending far less than we do. We also need to clear away legal barriers to health care financing and delivery reform, but to be careful as we do so to retain essential legal protections for consumers and patients."

Kalfaglou said, "As a public health researcher and educator, I would like to see President Elect Obama go beyond his campaign pledge to make incremental improvements to the US health care system, and, instead, would like to see his administration completely overhaul the broken system that leaves more than 48 million US residents without access to health care."

Meyerhoefer said, "As health care costs continue to rise, so has the number of uninsured Americans. Over the past several years expansions in public health insurance programs have partially offset lower offers of employer provided coverage. Obama's health care plan attempts to shore-up the current employer provided system by mandating that large employers offer credible coverage or pay into a government sponsored plan, and by subsidizing premiums paid by small employers. He also proposes the creation of a National Health Insurance Exchange where individuals without employer provided coverage purchase public or private plans. Currently, however, Obama's proposal does not mandate that individuals without insurance purchase it through the NHIE. Because the healthiest individuals are those most likely to opt out of insurance, this will limit the plans' ability to spread risk and keep premiums low. Individual mandates would also help reduce emergency room over-crowding and the burden of uncompensated care on hospitals. Addressing these issues under Obama's current health care plan will be a major challenge."

One possible solution, Sands says, is to transfer federal funding for nursing education from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. "Such a reallocation and redistribution of funds will assure a more vigorous, substantial funding stream desperately needed to prepare a large corps of nurses for national preparedness in the event of natural disasters or terrorist attacks as well as to provide care for all citizens," Sands said.

Snyder said, "Given the state of the financial system and the federal budget deficit there will be considerable pressure on President Obama to defer proposals that increase federal spending. However, of the promises Obama made during the campaign, keeping the promise of health care reform should be relatively inexpensive, and one where it is relatively easy to compromise during the legislative process. Most of the spending will not be really be new, even in the short run, but a transfer of spending from corporate balance sheets to the government's balance sheet. The keys are to 1) institute standard community-wide premiums and 2) provide some subsidy for low-income citizens who are too wealthy to qualify for Medicaid. Everything else is negotiable. If Obama gets through some health reform in his first hundred days he will have substantially reduced the consequences of financial insecurity for American families."

His books include Ethics and American Foreign Policy Toward the Third World (1993), Human Rights and Developing Countries (1996), and Human Rights and Structural Adjustment (2007).  He also is the co-director of the Cingranelli and Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Project (www.humanrightsdata.org), which has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Work Bank. The CIRI project seeks to provide policymakers, researchers, teachers, and students with easily accessible, high quality, annual information about government respect for a broad array of human rights in every country in the world (1981-present).

Quoting Cingranelli: "During the debates, President-elect Obama said that the United States must be willing to assert itself to help end humanitarian crises in order to regain its position of high international moral standing. It's not clear what he meant when he said this. Should the U.S. government intervene to stop the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan? While it is true that the U.S. ought to consider intervening to reduce the deaths of innocent people in humanitarian crises such as drought, flood, or genocide, the U.S. government should never use military force unilaterally for humanitarian purposes. Military humanitarian interventions should always be multilateral, and most troops on the ground should be provided by the governments of neighboring countries."

Quoting Wasserman on media bias: "Looking ahead, the media world that Obama will have to engage as president is in nobody’s pocket. It’s a fractured and fractious online and cable universe with little capacity for coherent bias — or, more disturbingly, for civic coherence of any kind."

Greene said, "One of the foremost difficulties President-elect Obama will face his first year in office will be the expectations of the diverse coalition who voted him into office. The President-elect's election night speech, which warned that solutions "may not come in the first year, or even the first term," was probably not appreciated by his most desperate supporters, as they listened to the speech with tears of joy in their eyes. The range of responsibilities and crises the new administration will be burdened with is so vast and so onerous that the neediest members of our society, who have invested their hopes and beliefs in the new administration, may have to struggle longer than they may have expected before the change they voted for actually improves their lives."

Quoting Merithew: "Since the first hundred days is a 20th century concept with origins in FDR's initial New Deal legislation, it will be interesting to see whether President-elect Obama will embrace or try to redefine that concept. In his first public remarks after winning the election, it is obvious that he is thinking of doing both. In the Nov. 4 victory speech, Obama stressed that he — and the country — face problems that might take more than one year or even one term to fix. At his first press conference on Nov. 7, Obama defined a more overtly activist approach by assuring Americans that his first priority was to pass an economic stimulus package and to do so quickly. It is telling that Obama often refers to Lincoln as a guiding light rather than FDR or JFK (presidents to which the press likes to compare him). This 21st century president may have a more 19th century pace than a 20th century one."

Now that Democrats will control the White House and the U.S. Congress, Byrnes says this is a critical time for Democrats. "They must step up to the plate," said Byrnes. "The pressure is on Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats. Because they ran on a platform of change, constantly noting Republican shortcomings, Americans may not be patient in waiting for the campaign promise of change to be carried out." Byrnes believes a government that is controlled by one political party can actually be more effective in accomplishing change than a divided government. He added that a Republican controlled White House and a Democratic controlled Congress, or vice versa, creates a logjam in the political process.

Orr is a member of the Presidential Climate Action Project advisory committee. Begun in 2006, it developed a bold, science-based agenda for the 44th President of the United States to jump-start federal leadership on climate and energy security within 100 days of taking office.

He serves on the Boards of the Rocky Mountain Institute (CO), the Center for Ecoliteracy (CA), and the Center for Respect of Life and Environment. He is also an advisor and consultant to the Trust for Public Land, the National Parks Advisory Committee, and other organizations.

A contributing editor of Conservation Biology, Orr is the author of The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment; Design on the Edge: The Making of a High Performance Building; The Nature of Design; Earth in Mind; Ecological Literacy and co-editor of The Global Predicament and The Campus and Environmental Responsibility. He has published 150 articles in scientific journals, social science publications, and popular magazines. He has lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Fairfield said, "The Obama candidacy was the first Web 2.0 candidacy. The president-elect shattered fundraising records by relying on internet donations, and then fed content back out over the internet, through YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and other social networking technologies. Internet volunteers starred in get-out-the-vote efforts, and cell phone texting reminded millions to vote on Election Day. The Obama administration will not abandon social networking technology when the president-elect takes office. An administration Web site is already active, and the president-elect has indicated he will solicit ideas and comment from citizens in an online forum. Obama shows every sign of using Web 2.0 social networking technologies to govern."

As a consultant to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, he was honored by the director for his work on the ABM Treaty Interpretation Project. He has been a frequent witness before congressional committees on maritime policy, legal aspects of foreign policy, national security, war and treaty powers, and democracy and human rights. He has been a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution.

"I think that after seeing three disasters in U.S. military history in which there was a failure to take account of professional military judgment — Vietnam, Somalia and the third one now is Iraq — we need to look much more carefully at how professional military advice can be fed directly to the commander-in-chief."

"You¹ve got to win the war of ideas — it¹s a crucial front in the war on terror. You can¹t stop all the radicals but you can sure reduce their ability to have countries support them and their base of willing converts."

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