ABSTRACT
The traditional serenity prayer goes: Lord, give me the courage to change those things that I can change, to accept those things that I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference. Upon taking office, newly elected presidents are faced with the dilemmas implied in this formulation. The main challenge for a president-elect before inauguration is to prepare to take office so that the first few months in office are successful. First impressions are important and, if negative, hard to overcome. Ronald Reagan benefited from his early successes, whereas Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton suffered from their early mistakes, despite significant improvements in each of their administrations.
