Zakaria: President-elect won't have much time to celebrate

Editor's note: Fareed Zakaria is a foreign affairs analyst who hosts "Fareed Zakaria: GPS" on CNN at 1 p.m. ET Sundays.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Trailing in the polls, Sen. John McCain will travel to seven states in one day as his presidential campaign enters its final hours, the Republican nominee's campaign manager announced Friday.

McCain will campaign in seven cities Monday, just one day before Election Day, Rick Davis said. The final list of cities has not been finalized, Davis said.

McCain and the Republican Party expect to outspend his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, by $10 million in the closing days of the campaign, Davis said.

The Republican nominee will not spend all of his final weekend campaigning on serious matters. McCain plans to make an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." He has appeared on the show before, but this weekend will be his first appearance this year.

Polls show that McCain is trailing Obama going into the final weekend of campaigning. A CNN poll of polls calculated Wednesday has Obama leading McCain 50 percent to 43 percent, with 7 percent unsure. The poll of polls is an average of eight national surveys.

In a sign that the Democrats were not going to sit on their lead, the Obama campaign announced Friday that it would begin airing ads in McCain's home state of Arizona.

CNN spoke to world affairs expert and author Fareed Zakaria about what the first order of business will be for whomever wins next week's election.

CNN: What will a president-elect do in the days following the election?

Zakaria: We spoke with three former administration officials on our show this week: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein and Carter National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.

They all remarked that the days following the election need to be focused on putting a team together.

Both Sens. McCain and Obama probably have a list of names for the top Cabinet posts already, but once the election is done, whichever teams wins will need to quickly refocus on putting together an administration. There's not much time to celebrate and savor the win before duties call. Watch Zakaria tell the next president to "be an optimist" »

CNN: Will it just be administrative details, then, until inauguration?

Zakaria: That is a very good question. As Secretary Albright mentioned on the program, there's only one president at a time. The president-elect cannot exert any power until he is inaugurated.

Ken Duberstein told me a story about President Ronald Reagan's last day in office. You'll have to watch my program to hear it, and it's quite funny, but suffice to say that, the transition period is so confusing that Reagan tried to give up his nuclear codes before he was actually out of power.

However, the new president does need to be up to speed, so he will be getting briefings -- just no authority -- before taking the oath of office.

CNN: Is the transition period a time when little gets done in Washington?

Zakaria: Not at all. For example, President Bush is convening a global financial summit between the election and inauguration. We are facing a financial crisis, so it is important to not let the situation sit for months while we wait for the new president to be sworn in.

President Bush will still be president and thus can implement any strategy he wants; though I'm sure there will be discussions with the president-elect.

CNN: Will the secretary of state be one of the first posts filled?

Zakaria: There are many good candidates for secretary of state -- and some are mentioned on my show this weekend.

Zbigniew Brzezinski suggested that if Obama were to win, he could reach across the aisle and choose either Sen. Richard Lugar or Sen. Chuck Hagel.

However, with the fiscal situation we are in, I would expect the secretary of Treasury to be announced before any other positions are filled.

CNN: Any ideas on who will serve as Treasury secretary?

Zakaria: I would suggest former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. In the situation we are in, we need someone who is very smart to understand the issues clearly. Also, we need someone who has had the post before to avoid the steep learning curve.

All About Saturday Night Live • Madeleine Albright • Dick Lugar • Chuck Hagel • Lawrence Summers