By this time tomorrow, except for possibly a few sqeakers, it will all be over. Then what? Taegan Goddard of Political Wire has a book out, entitled You Won - Now What?, that provides some relevant answers.

You Won, Now What?
How Americans Can Make Democracy Work from City Hall to the White House
by Taegan D. Goddard, Christopher Riback (Contributor)

Buy the Book Today!

From the Introduction:

"This book's premise is straightforward: to successfully take over government, public officials must first learn how to govern. Instead of reinventing government or turning to the latest management fad, new public officials must learn how to succeed in a world unlike any other. They must show voters that their election day choices really matter. They must follow through on their promises. For only through better governing will America get better government. "

Some reviews:

"Americans entrust their government to novices," Riback and Goddard remind us. "Every November they elect a bunch of people who have never done this before." You Won, Now What? offers practical tips on the task of governance, drawing upon real-life examples to illustrate how elected officials can do an effective job in their first--and in some ways most critical--days on the job. Their scope is broad--the authors consider state and local governments to be just as important as the federal government in maintaining quality of life for citizens--but the case studies keep the book from sliding into generalizations."

"In YOU WON - NOW WHAT?, Taegan D. Goddard and Christopher Riback argue convincingly that public disillusionment with government stems less from weariness with scandals and 'inside politics' than from elected officials' failure to deliver the results they promised. Many citizens, the authors correctly observe, 'have simply given up on a government which cannot solve today's urgent problems."

"Is government the problem or the solution? Both, say Goddard, who has held both federal and state appointed positions, and Riback, an investigative reporter. Novice elected and appointed officials bring valuable energy and new ideas to government agencies, but most of these folks don't know how to get things done in government, so they often can't keep campaign promises, and public cynicism rises. The authors hope to make the new-government-official transition easier by challenging cliches ("reinventing government," "run government like a business") and analyzing effective approaches."

(Available in hardcover and paperback)