Notes from the unemployed. (Capitol Ideas).

When John W Snow, chairman of CSX, takes Paul O'Neill's place as Treasury Secretary, lie may find a handwritten note from his predecessor taped inside a desk drawer: It probably reads something like this:

Dear John,

Welcome to the Treasury. You'll love the majestic office--beautiful paneling, full of history. Every morning, I used to dust that great portrait over the fireplace of the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Poor guy--he had some strong opinions, and he got shot for them. I guess not much changes around here.

There's a great view out of the window of the White House. Use it: Keep an eye on those guys. I probably didn't do enough of that. Maybe that's why the president forgot to throw me a goodbye party

No one around here seems especially interested in my advice these days. But for what it's worth, here are some of the landmines ahead:

* It's a good thing you know a lot about railroads, because you're jumping on a speeding train. These guys say they want good economic advice, but what they really want is a good economic salesman. They've already decided what to do. The big push this year will be to cut the tax on corporate dividends. If I were you, I'd talk up how this helps average workers and poor people. You can't sell this thing saying it's a tax cut for the wealthiest taxpayers. So call it something else. A "job creator." An "economic stimulus." Maybe even a way to juice the stock market. Oh, and when the senators add on a bunch of pork-barrel projects, don't denounce it as "show business." I made that mistake once, and it got me a down payment on my ticket back to Pittsburgh.

* As a chief executive, you often came to Washington to warn about the dangers of big budget deficits. I'd keep that to yourself.

Back in the '90s, a lot of us in business thought the big Federal deficit was an abomination. But the world's changed, John. Now, deficit cutting is called "Rubinomics," and in this White House that's an epithet. It gets in the way of important spending programs, like that missile defense program no one can make work.

So whether you believe it or not, just remember the mantra for the Sunday morning talk shows: Supply-side economics is the answer. If we keep cutting taxes, sooner or later money will flow into the Treasury. Interest rates are low now anyway, so the danger that the Federal deficit will drive up the cost of borrowing isn't a big deal. If anybody asks you about the relationship between Clinton's deficit cutting in the '90s and the economic boom we enjoyed then--well, say it was a coincidence, and it didn't stop the recession from coming.

Sure, some Democrat might complain that our children will be paying off these deficits for decades to come. But one of those children will be Treasury secretary someday. She can solve it.

* Remember that Job #1 at the Treasury these days is cutting off money to terrorist groups. Job #2 is declaring that our great allies like Saudi Arabia are helping with that cause, even if it isn't always the case.

This is a big deal for the president. So keep releasing those numbers showing how much money we've cut off for Al Qaeda, then change the subject when those pesky reporters ask whether the Saudis or the Pakistanis are actually helping us track down the sources of funding. The prez doesn't like reading that some of his great partners seem to have a foot in both camps.

* They say they love CEOs in this Administration. Once upon a time, that was true. Ever since Enron, the White House stopped using phrases like, "We want to run the government the way America runs companies, and "We're taking the CEO approach." Turns out those words don't poll so well anymore, and these days the CEOs around the Cabinet table have learned to pipe down when Karl Rove starts talking. Oh, and remember: When you are a CEO you can say anything you want, and people actually execute your decisions. It doesn't work that way around here.

Good luck, John. You're gonna need it.

Your friend,

Paul

David E. Sanger covers the White House for The New York Times.