The Political Machine 2008

Okay, okay. He already won the election for 2008, but that's no reason not to skip over this one. Not only does it give the Obama team a head start on preparing for the next election, but it also serves as a nice snapshot of public opinion before the most recent election. So if the team wants to know how their stance on universal health care or higher gas taxes might fly in a given state, they don't have to call on some fancy pants Department Secretary; they can just boot up the game and see for themselves. 

Tropico

Alright, running the United States isn't quite like being the dictator of a small, impoverished Caribbean island (at least yet) , but there are definitely some important lessons to be learned here. First, the economic crisis and social unrest in Tropico will more than prepare our next President to deal with the current recession and political friction he'll encounter as he negotiates the next four years. And if it teaches him how to skim a little cash off the top to fund his retirement, well, that's a risk I think we'll have to take. 

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

With so many members of the Supreme Court being ripe for retirement (we're looking at you, Stevens), it's likely that President Obama will have the opportunity to appoint at least a couple of judges over the next few years. And what better way to get a handle on what makes a good judge than by diving into the adventures of everyone's favorite rookie defense attorney, Phoenix Wright? By following Phoenix's process of investigation, questioning and cross-examination, our new President will have all the information he needs to determine who should sit in the nation's highest judicial office. 

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

In addition to being the nation's highest executive officer, the President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the nation's military. To better prepare the President to realize the full potential of our modern infantry weapons and to give him a greater sense of the consequences of sending young men and women into harm's way, we suggest that the President take on the challenges of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Though he'll miss out on the thrilling boot camp experience that makes life in the Marines so appealing, there's no way the game can help but improve his respect for our military. 

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09

It can't all be work, of course, so we wanted to give Obama a chance for a little recreation as well. Golf is the perennial presidential pastime, and we'd like to give President Obama the opportunity to strengthen his game by getting in a few virtual rounds with Tiger Woods. Better yet, Tiger's own coach, Hank Haney, will provide a number of useful golfing tips that are sure to come in handy when the President has to hit the links with Kim Jong-il. 

Trevor Chan's Capitalism II

President Calvin Coolidge once said, "The business of America is business," so it would be worthwhile for President Obama to investigate the ins and outs of the corporate world. And there's no better place to start than Trevor Chan's celebrated series. This economic management game will force Obama to consider all that's involved in the manufacturing and marketing of good, all while managing the bottom line. And if things get really bad, the President can petition Enlight to develop and publish Trevor Chan's Bailout. 

My Spanish Coach

The demographics of America are changing and it's time for future Presidents to make an effort to understand and communicate with the diverse elements of electorate in their own native language. There's no better place to start than by reaching out the Spanish-speaking Latinos and Hispanics who live and work in the United States. Sure, it may not have worked out quite so well for Bill Richardson, but there's no reason for President Obama not to strengthen his ability to communicate with such a large and important part of the electorate. 

Tom Clancy's EndWar

The Clancy brand has always offered up loads of fun for National Security Agency and Department of Defense hopefuls so we have to make sure that President Obama gets in on the action. In this case, we're chosing this ripped-from-tomorrow's-headlines strategy game that simulates a world war sparked by a resource shortage. Better yet, the game's option to play using voice commands should be a perfect opportunity for the incoming President to practice bossing people around. 

DEFCON

A man who has his finger on the button is a man with a lot of responsibility. So before President Obama reaches for those launch codes, we'd like him to check out this terrifying wargame that simulates a worldwide nuclear war. The real point of the game is that you can't ever really win in a nuclear exchange with another power, so the only goal is to see who can lose the least. I mean, not to get all preachy or anything, but it's a lesson that we'd like anyone who sits in the Oval Office to learn. 

Supreme Ruler 2010

It may not be the best of the games on the list, but if our Commander-in-Chief is going to excel at his job, he's going to have to master many of the same sorts of challenges presented by this game. With full control over his country's infrastructure and military might, he'll be able to explore the use and abuse of that power in a format that won't actually affect anyone in the real world. So, if for instance, he wants to see what, if anything, might happen if we invaded Canada, he could just give it a run-through in Supreme Ruler first.