Obama Inauguration Starts New Era

Barack Obama waits to take the oath of office, making him the 44th president of the United States.

Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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It was a mess when George W. Bush was first sworn in. There was the wet rain; the protesters jeering him just 39 days after the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore that Florida was his. Bush promised an era of civility that echoed his Texas years where he was popular and known as bipartisan. Of course, it didn't turn out that way. Bush's years were marked by rancor and division, a Senate that flipped party control three times and a vice president who once cursed out a prominent senator with the counsel to "go f—k yourself."
      
It's different now, of course. Barack Obama is holding bipartisan dinners with John McCain, the Senate colleague and Republican presidential opponent he vanquished two months ago. Obama's victory was short of a landslide, but still decisive with none of the doubt that marked 2000's recount, or even 2004's need for John Kerry to wait until the next day to concede he lost Ohio and the presidency. Obama comes into office strong, with commanding popularity, strong majorities in both houses, and all the history that goes with being the first African-American president.
     
What happens now with the economy is anyone's guess. Will Obama get his $800-plus billion stimulus package through Congress and, if he does, how much will he have to compromise? Will the package work to rescue an economy and a financial system that's reeling?

The new president knows his time in office will be judged largely by how he (and this Democratic Congress) confront this economic crisis. In his inaugural address before hundreds of thousands of people gathered on a chilly Mall, Obama called for "bold and swift" action "not only  to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth."

Obama spoke of "the market" and argued the nation can't have a debate if it's a force of good or evil. "Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous," he said.

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