What a President Should Know (But Most Learn Too Late): An Insider's View on How to Succeed in the Oval Office

Two Washington insiders look at the diverse issues confronting the winner of the 2008 presidential election, the need to surround oneself with savvy advisers, the qualities that are essential to a presidential adviser, budgeting and finances, how to run and manage the federal government, and other key areas of concern.

Lawrence B. Lindsey was Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council at the White House (2001-2002). From 1997 to 2001, he was a Resident Scholar and holder of the Arthur F. Burns Chair in Economics at the American Enterprise Institute. During late 1999 and throughout 2000 he served as then-Gov. George W. Bush's chief economic advisor for his presidential campaign. Lindsey served as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1991-1997). He was a Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development (1989-1991). He was an associate professor of economics at Harvard University (1984-1989). From 1981 to 1984 he was the senior staff economist for tax policy for the Council of Economic Advisers. He is the author of The Growth Experiment: How the New Tax Policy is Transforming the U.S. Economy (Basic, 1990) and Economic Puppetmasters: Lessons from the Halls of Power (AEI, 1999). He is currently the president and chief executive officer of The Lindsey Group, which he co-founded in 2003.

Marc Sumerlin is Managing Director and co-founder of The Lindsey Group. He previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council for Pres. George W. Bush. Prior to the White House, Sumerlin was the Economic Policy Advisor at the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign headquarters where he advised then-Gov. Bush on economic matters. He has also worked as a Senior Analyst and Assistant Economist to the Senate Budget Committee, a Research Assistant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and an Accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick.