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You are here: Home / White House / Second Term Advice for Obama

Second Term Advice for Obama

January 17, 2013 at 9:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matthew Dowd gives President Obama 5 useful tips as he prepares to start his second term next week:

1. Turnover in staff and cabinet leadership. It is very important for a president to bring in new leaders in a second term.  The folks that served in the first term are tired, exhausted, and lack much of the creativity needed to energize a second term.

2. Second term scandals. Be constantly aware and diligent in avoiding scandals and big mistakes that could doom the second term no matter the personnel or vision in place.

3. Rediscover first term vision. It is also important for President Obama to look back at the biggest things he didn’t accomplish in his first term and renew an effort to get that done.

4. Simplify second term agenda. Many Presidents have beleaguered second terms because they bit off way more than they could chew. They try to do too many things, and they end up not doing any of them well. Doing a few simple and direct things in a second term is the path to success.

5. Legacy. The final item President Obama should focus on is what is his political legacy post the second term. Who are the new brand of leaders he is bringing in and getting ready to carry on what he began?

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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