Since June we have worked with the Politico and the Center for American Progress Action Fund to provide some advice for the next president. Dear44 concludes today with thoughts from Tom Donohue and John Podesta on our nation's future. Podesta writes:

It is clear that our next president will have challenges, but he will also have enormous opportunities for change. I hope that he seizes them.

Donohue agrees that we need to seize the opportunities before us, by embracing our can-do legacy:

Former Kennedy speechwriter and adviser Ted Sorenson wrote in his recent book:

"We are losing the national memory of America’s story, forgetting who we are and what it’s taken to come this far."

It’s time for Americans to prove that he’s wrong. We need to wake up. We need to remember that the American Dream is an aspiration, not a birthright.

After the election, we have another choice to make. Do we lead or do we follow? Do we continue our legacy and build a can-do future based on growth, hard work, entrepreneurship and reward? Or do we rest on our laurels and continue to sink into the swamp of can’t-do, enjoying small comforts in equitable mediocrity.

The next president and the next Congress need to tackle tough problems — not sweep them under the rug — and cease the endless gridlock that clogs our public policy process. Regardless of the election outcome, the business community and the U.S. Chamber stand ready to help — in accordance with our fundamental principles and with a fierce determination to achieve the outcome we trust both parties share: getting America moving again through economic growth and enterprise.