Some worthwhile advice for the new president.

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.

AS BILL CLINTON assumes office, he should be humbled by a simple fact--we have five living ex-presidents (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush). Only Reagan left the office after two full terms to the general applause of the nation. In fact, since World War 11, only two presidents (Dwight Eisenhower and Reagan) were elected to and completed two full terms. In this lies an important cautionary tale. Simply put, most contemporary occupants of the White House have been mastered by the office, rather than been its masters.

Pres. Clinton no doubt will try to learn from the misfortunes of his predecessors. The challenge, as it is for any student of history, will be to find what lessons of the past can apply to the future. Here are a few suggestions:

Administer the strong economic medicine early, while the patient still has your trust. Carter never took this advice, overstimulating the economy early in his presidency, thereby inducing inflation later, then having to step on the economic brakes. The result was defeat. Clinton should deal with the deficit issue and introduce measures to cap entitlement spending in his first 100 days. By getting an early handle on the deficit dilemma, he may have some fiscal maneuverability in the event the economy turns downward as he heads for re-election.

Set your priorities so they are clear and understood by the general public. Reagan had only three ideas--cut taxes, strengthen the military, and reduce domestic spending. He focused upon them relentlessly in his first term and was at least successful in achieving the first two. Carter had a laundry list of ideas, and no one could discern which was more important than the other. Bush waited until late in his term to articulate a domestic agenda; by then, he had lost his credibility. If economic growth is Clinton's objective, all other matters should be made secondary to that aim.

Learn to say no and mean no. A president who talks tough and then caves in will spend an enormous amount of time trying to regain his credibility. Bush's reneging on his "no new taxes" promise proved to be a fatal error. No only did this make little economic sense during a weak economy, but it cut at the core of his believability and only whet the appetite of his opponents. Compromise is the glue of politics. Yet, when one compromises on core beliefs, the glue has no adhesion for other matters. After Bush signed the 1990 budget agreement, Congress...