The Editor’s Desk

Barack 0bama sees the world more or less as it is, and seems less susceptible to self-deception and self-delusion than most of us. With the possible exception of genuine saints, everyone is the star of the movie that plays in their heads, and the Obama story is thus far a heroic tale of a bright and blessed man who has defied history in order to make history. It would take a very cool man indeed not to have his head turned and his personality warped by the adulation he has garnered and the hopes he has inspired. In a series of behind-the-scenes photographs, Charles Ommanney captures the intimate moments of Inauguration Day, and while there were very few Americans who were not moved by Obama's swearing-in, Allison Samuels, Ellis Cose and Raina Kelley write about the especially profound and complicated impact of the moment on people of color.

Yet Obama, to echo George H.W. Bush's 1988 acceptance speech, is that man—cool, sober, reflective and pragmatic. Far from believing himself immune to the vagaries of politics and the exigencies of the moment, the 44th president of the United States has taken care to strike cautionary notes in his major addresses, from Grant Park to the inaugural. "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," he said on the steps of the Capitol. "They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time."

If it endures, such humility is likely to serve the president well in light of the scale—the growing scale—of the problems confronting us. In a series of essays by Fareed Zakaria, Daniel Gross, Robert J. Samuelson and Zachary Karabell in this week's cover package, we argue that the crises at hand have markedly worsened during the transition. Dan writes about what he calls "The Quitter Economy": "Companies, homeowners and money managers willing to quit rather than fight is both a symptom of the nation's deep economic woes and emblematic of the challenge the Obama administration faces," Dan writes. "More than a mere 'economic crisis' is facing Barack Obama. Our 'Yes, We Can' president is going to have to fix a 'No, We Can't' economy … The challenge for Obama is twofold: deal with the crisis of confidence and with the crisis of economic reality. If housing doesn't stop imploding, the confidence businesses (i.e. credit) won't recover. But without the return of confidence, the credit markets will plunge further into dysfunction, hampering a recovery in housing, and in every other industry." Howard Fineman, Jonathan Alter and Jacob Weisberg weigh in, with Jacob arguing that Obama is being vague to the point of meaninglessness about his guiding philosophy of government.

And as Fareed notes, "Even in the depths of the Iraq War, when much of the globe was enraged by George W. Bush's unilateralism, people everywhere believed that the United States had the world's most advanced economy and that its capital markets in particular were the most sophisticated and developed. American officials, businessmen and economists lectured far and wide on the need to copy the American system. That system is now seen across the world as a sham, a risky casino game in which the highly paid participants mismanaged risk and highly respected regulators cheered them on. I have traveled to Europe, Asia and the Middle East in these last three months and am writing this from Canada. The attitudes of officials and businessmen range from shock to rage at what they see in the United States."

So it all begins again: a president arrives in office, the troubles mount and the country watches with a mixture of hope and skepticism.