By Jim Clarke, SVP, Public Policy, American Society of Association Executives

Regardless of who won the election yesterday, the transition from candidate to 44th President of the United States will be harried at best. New presidents have just three months to make cabinet and other political appointments; draft a first 100 days agenda; reach out to Congress, world leaders and others; and decide which campaign promises to push first.

These decisions will be crucial to defining the new Administration and its overarching messages. But much of this work may take a back seat to addressing the most precarious economy since the Great Depression. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll had 44 percent of Americans agreeing that the new president faces the most serious challenges of anyone in his position over the last 50 years.

Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta told USA Today that this incoming president "is going to face a set of crises that no president has had to face in modern times."

Without predicting the future, it is safe to assume this unprecedented, volatile environment will greatly influence the messaging strategy of the new Administration. It is also reasonable to expect that the traditional "honeymoon" period for any new president could be significantly shorter, depending on whether the current economic crisis and associated problems in the housing and stock markets worsen in the coming months.

Certainly, increasing numbers of layoffs, rising unemployment, contractions in the availability of credit, and threats to retirement funds make for an impatient populace and hasten the need for resolute, confident decision-making and clear communications from the White House.

It is also safe to assume the new Administration will want to establish a tone that is markedly different from the Bush White House, which has been mired in record-low public approval ratings for some time. Where President Bush and his cabinet were frequently distrusting and tight-lipped with the press, it's likely the new Administration will at least initially seek to use the "honeymoon" (however short it may be) to help build public confidence in the Administration's agenda and in its leadership.

It may be a continuation of the strategies we saw on the campaign trail, where both candidates in their own way purported to speak directly to the people, eschewing spin for "straight talk."

The new Administration will doubtless enjoy better relations with Congress from the outset, but it will also look to project honesty and accountability with the public, particularly as it works to allay doubts about its experience and ability to lift the country out of the current economic crisis.

During the transition, we can expect that each agency in the new Administration will be looking at its program of work and assessing what it needs by way of public relations. Every agency has its own needs and priorities, but the White House will want consistency in its messaging.

Again, though, current events and conditions will likely dictate the new Administration's first steps, just as President Bush's first year in office was defined by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. We can hope the new Administration is able to work on more mundane issues, because it will mean the more urgent crises impacting the country have been brought under control.

Jim Clarke, CAE, is senior vice president of public policy for the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Washington, DC.