Now comes hard part for Obama: governing

Wow, that was quick!

Voters got an early glimpse of his style last month when Wall Street collapsed, stocks fluctuated and the government intervened. He struck a cautious stance and deferred to lawmakers dealing directly with the problems. He was deliberative and careful in his response—perhaps just the approach voters were seeking after eight years of what critics call President George W Bush’s cowboy approach.

what a joke. obama phoned clinton, talked to bubba's advisors, called warren buffet and then begged to be told what would sound best, knowing that for now the media would do the rest. after all, this is the president they know wants to reinstate the abysmally stupid, luddite 'fairness doctrine' so he can silence talk radio, the one media channel that 'liberals' don't have control of.

He'll look like that guy who played GOD in that movie in 4 years. I'm excited for his first scandal. What could it be...maybe he has thousands of relations living illegally in public housing or he doesn't like broccoli. Do you think HE can ride a SEGWAY??? He'll just make a few phone calls and say "Hey, everythings changed now, so let's all stop this fuss'n and fued'n-folks" Ya, da folksy talk will make the world a better place. I feel happy already.

No new president has faced so much since Franklin Delano Roosevelt—and even he didn’t have two wars on his plate.

No, he just had a two front war dozens of times the scale of what we see today, that's all, Liz.

What we see today are not even wars, really. We are locked into the civil war of others.

World War II is well known to have bailed America out of the depression, so much so that some people think FDR intentionally got us into it. Odd comparison.

All—whites, blacks, women, Hispanics, young people, Democrats, Republicans and independents—will have high expectations for Obama’s presidency.

Well not this white independent. I think hoping he will be able to restore American pride, sense and some measure of financial stability, even within the red, is quite enough given what the man and his cabinet will have to deal with. And let us not confuse hopes with expectations.

Altria - Wow, that was quick!

These are pre-made the one for Mcain will be stored for maybe over 4 years?

What a hell of a bush inspired mess he has to clear up now.

Love him or hate him he's your president for the next 4 years. Majority rules !!!!! Power to the people !!!! I love democracy !!!!!

Ben & Jerry's Obama jamboree chocolat heaven coming to an ice cream shop near you !!!!

All of the liberals here can start crowing.....

I hope things get better, but if they don't, they can't blame G'Dub...Wait a minute, sure they can. They'll say any problems over the next 3 years are all his fault, and change only comes after 4 years in office.

Addiu

Lots of sore Republican losers out there. That's the kind of bad attitude that just lost them power.

Here's hints for Pres. Obama, which were conveyed to me during the Reagan Years:

He will be entering an environment where certain departments are as powerful as the Presidency and epic battles ensue. Any, any flaws of his closest advisers will be found and exploited in the 2nd half of your 1st term - high tech. Should designate a sanctuary/retreat away from DC when critical decisions need to be made - not necessarily Camp David, but rather a familiar location.

I wish President-Elect all the best in fixing the current American/World problems. I do believe change must come first in Washington and lawmakers must be held accountable for their actions (or inactions) Bills (law) must be simplified instead of one vote for thousands of bills. =One vote few bills (the less the better).

These will be difficult times and people (mostly the lazy, embedded, tenured, Clintonians, McCainists) are always resistant to change.

Deep in your hearts,even the rednecks,racists and anti-Democrats know that McCain didn't have the wherewithal to rebuild America. There's no guarantee that Obama can,but decent folks knew the same ol',same ol' was not the way to go.And God bless them.

If African "democracies" can continue to blame the legacy of colonialism 40+ years ago for their present day failures, Obama and the media can certainly blame Bush for the policy failures that are coming for the U.S. over the next eight years. Most of what Obama has planned - LBJ Great Society measures, massive foreign aid programs to the 3rd world, higher taxes on the producers, etc.- have failed in the past and will fail in the future. It will be interesting to see how long the fawning media can keep all of the negatives swept under the rug.

It will be interesting to see how long the fawning media can keep all of the negatives swept under the rug.

I agree. The media has been in the tank for him since the day he announced his candidacy. Now that he has been anointed, it will be interesting to see what their messiah, their savior can accomplish. Personally I don't hold out much home for someone whose only real leadership experience is running a community outreach program. But what the hell, everyone has to start somewhere right. Might as well start at the top.

No, he just had a two front war dozens of times the scale of what we see >today, that's all, Liz.

I thought the same when I first read it but upon re-reading it although rather vaguely worded it seems the intent was to say that FDR didn't COME INTO OFFICE with our country involved in two ongoing wars.

"No new president has faced so much since Franklin Delano Roosevelt—and even he didn’t have two wars on his plate. Roosevelt had four months to come up with programs to address the Great Depression before he took office on March 4, 1933. Obama gets just 2 1/2 to put together his government; inauguration is Jan 20."

4 years from now we'll still be in a recession, thousands will have lost jobs, many many companies will have gone bankrupt. And either we'll STILL be in Iraq due to unforseen events or Afganistan will have become a bigger quagmire. All not Obama's fault and beyond his control. This is how an otherwise good qualified President can easily become a one term president. History has been made.

Correction:

"President-elect Obama"......

I never believed in the "high tech", but it's now in my neighborhood. Very hard to completely evade, and impressive in it's strength.

I think an republican tax would help, if obama is like those before them he will support his backing and tax the others ;p

Under the circumstances, the US and Pres. elect Obama probably will not be able to consolidate the dynamics of most multilateral forums to address the problems. He doesn't have the background.

"What a hell of a bush inspired mess he has to clear up now."

So after all the talk of change and how different he was and how he was so special and unique......his future failures have already been blamed on Bush...yappari.

No. Full stop. He knew what he was getting into and he's promised to fix it all, change all the bad to good, give hope where there was none, etc. He either delivers or he just another politician lying to get elected.

If he really is "all that", he'll be able to improve things dramatically DESPITE the challenges. Remember, he has singlehandedly made the rest of the world love us, right? I saw the fawning adoring news coverage from around the globe as well as you.

The Dems have complete control, no checks or balances left. They don't need the Republicans for anything. Now either put up or shut up.

I'll be praying every day that Obama is a success....but I won't be accepting any excuses if he's not.

Obama was so great at fundraising that I think he should keep going. The email/internet donation system worked pretty well!

Funny how after eight years of Bush so many of the reason-challenged here think they can already fault Obama for the mess the country is in.

Pathetic.