Finally, a new era in US and world politics begins today. Presdient Obama will not be able to solve immediately all the problems that America and the world face. However, he is one of the most celebral people to occupy the seat of US presidency, with scintillating oratory. If he continues to use great skills that he has shown so far, there are grounds to be (cautiously) optimistic. He will question, understand and then explain what he does. He will probably seek bipartisanship, thereby neutralize the Republicans, and use the executive powers invested in him less forcefully. In the current economic and political situation, the US needs to unite. All in all, there is a huge difference between the 44th and the 43rd presidents: Mr Obama is a lumper, as much as Mr Bush is a splitter.
We do not know what will happen in the future, but today is a day that many people will remember where they were and where they listened to his speech. Today will be a formative day for a whole generation: the inauguration speech and his presidency will be the first world-scale event that people will remember. Naturally there is another contender which could shape and form a generation: the once-in-a-lifetime/century economic crisis. So the first year of the presidency will determine which event will be imprinted in people’s minds more strongly. Let’s hope that it’s Mr Obama’s inauguration speech.