January 20, 2009: The In Box

The New Yorker put it this way: "So much of the Presidency…is a matter of waking up in the morning and trying to drink from a fire hydrant." Well, to extend the metaphor — the next president may all but choke on the water flying out of that hydrant. Imagine the in-box facing President McCain — or Obama. How would you rank the challenges? Here’s our list:

1) Jump-Starting the Economy

2) Pakistan & Afghanistan

3) The Housing Mess (a subset of "1", really)

4) Iraq

5) Health Care

6) Energy

7) Climate Change

8) Trade

9) Education

10) Immigration