Obama's Transition Leader Sketches Out Vision for Assertive Presidency

On Wednesday, major Democratic officials, including the co-chair of Barack Obama's transition team, released a comprehensive outline for the incoming administration that could go a long way in determining aspects of the president-elect's agenda.

John Podesta, who heads Obama's transition effort, and Mark Green, a long-time New York Democrat who advised the Clinton transition in 1992, have completed a 300,000-word project titled, "Change For America: A Progressive Blueprint For the 44th President," that charts out a governing path for the next Democratic president.

Podesta, who recused himself from the work after he was appointed to his current post, offers glimpses of his transition priorities in the book's introductory pages. Writing in some ominous terms about a future Democratic government, he emphasizes that the next president-elect (he penned this before Obama's election) must move aggressively on his agenda "regardless of the environment," or face a revolt from voters.

"[I]f the president and his administration do not take the time upfront to develop a clear and coherent blueprint for action -- and find ways to move this agenda regardless of the environment -- then they will quickly find the windows of opportunity shutting before their eyes and will face increased public frustration and disappointment," he writes.