The President-elect’s transition to power is a funny time. The outgoing Prez Bush gets some airtime again. Incoming Prez Barack Obama has to remind everyone that he’s not president yet. And you know the election-season media machine is finally running on empty when you see the “Meet the First Grandma” story on Michelle Obama’s mom.

After months and months of Barack Obama chilling in the public’s eye all day and every day, he has suddenly retreated behind closed doors, starving the news cycle of anything substantive to spin. So what’s the next best thing? Speculation, of course!

With that in mind, we present the things that Obama should do immediately after assuming office (in a perfect world, that is):

1. Hang a “Closed for Business” sign at the gates of Gitmo.
2. Not wait 6.5 years to hold a Middle East peace summit.
3. Send a clear message to his own party by ousting Ben Bernanke, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi.
4. Send a clear message to the Republican party by inviting their leadership to the White House (and promptly schooling them in a one-on-five game of b-ball).
5. Send a clear message to his country that fixing the economy in the short-term is priority #1.
6. Send a clear message to the next century of Americans that education is the real long-term fix to the economy by completely overhauling No Child Left Behind.
7. Send Joe the Plumber a plumber’s license with the Presidential seal on it.
8. Make Asia his first stop to pick up some tips on financial collapse in the modern age from Japan, sell off some more of our debt to China, and have a Come to Jesus meeting with the Pakistani and Afghan governments.
9. Call Putin and remind him that oil is below $65 a barrel, then beat him in an online game of Battleship; type “If October is red, then this November was BLACK! LOL ” And then restore relations, or whatever.
10. Invite Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton over for dinner and let them know that their services are no longer needed.

Tags: barack obama's top 10 to do list