KEY POINTS:
Millions of words of hope have been written and spoken about the promise of an Obama presidency, many of them by Barack Obama himself. None of them said much about what the new President might do. Nor could he when taking the oath of office this morning. A speech from the steps of the Capitol in the biting cold of a Washington winter is no place for a detailed resumé of intentions. An inaugural address has to be brief, broad and hopefully inspirational.
The best inaugurals have carried lines that define the presidency throughout its life and ever after. Lines such as Franklin Roosevelt's, "nothing to fear but fear itself", apposite for another President coming to office in an economic crisis, or Kennedy's "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". The best lines in this morning's inaugural may not be those that capture tomorrow's headlines but those given meaning by events yet to unfold.
Kennedy was the last President to come to power with the youth and fresh thinking that Obama seems to offer, but the anti-Catholic prejudice that Kennedy had to overcome was nothing compared to the racial barrier that Obama has broken. The November election was a day Americans discovered they could do what many had doubted they would when they entered the voting booth. President Obama might never bring more change than he has made simply by coming into the White House, but he needs now to do much more.
Until a few months ago the Obama campaign had the same opportunity that Kennedy's had, to raise the nation's sights above self-interest, material goals and military might. Now, that sort of idealism seems a luxury.
The Obama Administration's first and overriding challenge is a very material one. The United States is caught in an economic seizure. Banks are not lending the money Congress has given them to keep them afloat. Business is nervous about borrowing it because consumers are not buying as much as they were.
The Obama Government-in-waiting has advocated yet more emergency funds for the banking system but it will have to be more imaginative. If banks have not the confidence to lend in these circumstances there is no point bolstering their balance sheets. Let the Government become a commercial bank, making funds available for businesses operating on overdraft and for judicious expansion plans. If private financial institutions need more taxpayer cash, provide it at wholesale interest rates when they can show they have recovered their confidence.
President Obama will be anxious to revive economic activity so as to begin what surely is his particular mission in office: improving the lot of poor communities, which are disproportionately black. He appears to be amenable to collective solutions to substandard housing and services and the recession might help by releasing relief on a scale that makes bold programmes worthwhile.
But hope needs to be tempered by the fact that the President can do little on the domestic front without the support of the Congress. Obama has Democrat majorities in both Houses but that is no guarantee of their compliance. The President has more latitude in foreign affairs and there Obama must also make his mark.
The world hopes for the superpower's leadership on improving international financial dealings and reducing barriers to trade. The Arab-Israeli struggle needs renewed diplomatic effort and Islamist nationalism needs to be given alternatives to terrorism. Nuclear proliferation needs to be tackled seriously, not selectively.
President Obama has the hopes of the world in his hands. His oratory has been inspiring. Now his hard work starts.
