Barack Obama on Tuesday was sworn in as the first African American president in US history amidst daunting challenges that include a worsening recession and two wars in distant countries.
Despite the history Obama made by becoming president, the "testing stone" that his fellow citizens will use to judge his administration will be whether or not he can bring the US out of its financial crisis.
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Barack Obama swears in as the 44th president of the United States of America in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Jan. 20, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]
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Reassure people, restore confidence
In his inaugural address, labeled by some as "a speech ushering in an Obama Era," the new president made a cool-headed and objective analysis of the current US situation.
"Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age," the president said.
Obama said the US is facing "a sapping of confidence ... a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights."
However, he said, despite the troubles all of the difficulties "will be met."
"We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," he told the throngs that massed in Washington to bear witness to the historic inauguration.
Analysts said the problems facing the US are intricate and no panacea can be easily found. The first thing Obama needs do to prevent the crisis from deteriorating is to reassure Americans that things will get better.
As long as Obama can unite as many forces as possible, he can reduce political resistance to the process of tackling the crisis, analysts said.
One U.S. political commentator said Obama obviously followed the trail that former President Franklin Roosevelt blazed when he delivered his inaugural speech during the Great Depression in 1933.
The commentator called Obama's move to reassure America "a new interpretation" of Roosevelt's famous saying that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
In fact, Obama has endeavored to create a stable and harmonious political atmosphere since he was elected.
The San Francisco Chronicle said the "inaugural address blends inspiration, humility. It was just the right tone for these perilous times."