Awe and anxiety

Barack Obama's swearing-in brings hope, but fears too. He seems to be clear about the economic problems, but so too were his predecessors.

The Washington Post

The swearing-in … of the nation's 44th president is a moment of particular extremes: enormous joy, great hope, deep fears. Joy, because the nation takes another step in its effort to overcome the stain of slavery and discrimination. ...

The hope lies in the qualities of the man who [swears] on the Bible... Since the election, as during the campaign, Mr. Obama has impressed, inspired and reassured the nation with his intelligence, steadiness, civility and common sense. …

Meanwhile, an economy in tatters poses an immediate challenge on a scale not faced since Franklin Roosevelt took office in the midst of the Great Depression. As president-elect, Mr. Obama was as hands-on with the economy as he was skittish about venturing into foreign policy. This was both appropriate and necessary, under the unusual circumstances, and the opening days and weeks of the Obama presidency will benefit as a result. Congressional debate on the Obama-crafted recovery package has been launched; there is every reason to hope that Congress will act by the middle of February. Even so, the recovery is likely to be slow and painful, and the road ahead no less bumpy as the bills come due from the country's failure to address its increasingly dire long-term fiscal picture. Mr. Obama seems clear-eyed about the problem and resolute about tackling it, but so, too, did his predecessors.