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IT'S RARE for Barack Obama, the smoothest political orator on the block, to stumble in front of the microphone. In a reminder that he is, after all, mortal, he did so at the most important moment of his life: during the inaugural oath.
When he mangled the word order like a nervous bridegroom, he suppressed a giggle. It was a blithe, unscripted moment on a day which sets the country and the world on course for a different epoch.
In the freezing clear dawn yesterday, the streets were already abuzz with muffled-up crowds. In the least patient country on earth, no one complained or pushed; the lingua franca was a smile and a joke.
I have seen huge crowds gather in protest, in anger, because a government or party has has told them to, or in mourning. But the sight of more than two million people crammed together simply because they wanted to greet and celebrate a new elected leader has a uniquely uplifting quality.
It reminds us that America's best asset is now, as it always has been, a belief in itself and capacity for renewal: from George Washington's speech at Valley Forge and its creed "not of fear but of virtue and hope".
Can his political descendant fulfil the expectation and longing that is vested in him? Today, as the bunting comes down and normality returns to Washington, he confronts one of the most daunting to-do lists of any incumbent.
The richest economic power on earth has seen banks collapse, recession strike and a nation built on the ideals of progress and prosperity fearful of slipping backwards.
The mightiest military power on earth has been humbled by a war in Iraq and thankless intervention in Afghanistan. Both began with good intentions as the attempt to contain terror and enhance democratic stability in troubled regions.
Obama becomes Commander-in Chief at a time when the outcomes of both are uncertain, the death toll sobering and limits of that military power sorely exposed. A nation that has seen itself, in Reagan's words, as the "shining beacon" feels tired and lost.
Even as he guarantees that "the challenges will be met", he is seeking distance from the euphoria which helped bring him to power. In so doing he is crafting his own new brand of politics for an age of anxiety: a blend of progressive ideas, tone and attitudes with the best of traditional, even conservative values.
That may surprise some of his admirers but he is explicit in his call for "a return to hard work and honesty, to the old virtues and values". I suspect that like Tony Blair, he will soon leave his party and its constraints behind.
Crucially, he invites the US and the wider world to take a moral lesson from the failures of the markets and the greed which has wreaked so much havoc. If Mr Obama accepts "collective failings", how long can Gordon Brown continue to deny any such responsibility? Just asking.
A quality frustratingly infrequent in senior politicians is a genuine interest in what those he disagrees with are thinking, and willingness to learn from them. Having his Republican rival John McCain with him on the eve of the inauguration was testament to a real broad-mindedness, reflected in his assertively bi-partisan team from the start.
Imagine that happening in Britain, where at a time of national economic crisis, Mr Brown and David Cameron have locked themselves into a downward spiral of ever-cheaper rhetorical attacks, to the diminishment of both.
As Washington bid an unfond farewell to George Bush, it would be a less wise man than the new president who would assume that his predecessor's narrowness and limitations were solely responsible for the state of things.
Yes, Mr Bush proved to be a very bad leader but he faced an era of major challenges - the rise of Islamic terrorism, the conditions in which the financial crisis could occur and the shift of power, post Cold War, to a less democratic Russia (another killing of a human-rights activist who highligted the plight of Chechnya this week). A more powerful and assertive Iran was always going to be a headache, even without the added complication of a fragmented Iraq next door. The Israel-Palestinian impasse has defeated everyone who tried to solve it, not just careless George.
The most promising aspect of this week's change in the world's top job is that it allows lines to be drawn and a break for thought. A new offer of a path to co-operation between the US and countries which the Bush administration defined as inalienable enemies heralds greater readiness to try more "soft power" solutions to hard problems.
On the clash between the West and extremist fundamentalism, he cannot back down. David Miliband may have called off the "war on terror" without consulting Washington first. Mr Obama was firm in his diagnosis that his "nation is at war against a ... network of violence and hatred". He seeks a "new way forward" but surely he knows he cannot afford to be the Jimmy Carter of retreat and inconsistency.
Very soon, there will be disagreements, where today there is admiration. He will use force where others call for non-violence, and abstain from force where some think it a duty to use it. He will condemn where some think he should forgive, and compromise where his critics think more firmness is called for.
Already the nature of his stimulus package to redress a sinking world economy is contentious, his promise of real tax cuts looks shaky. The entire global economic system totters.
Against this background, he cannot get every choice right. What he can do is increase confidence in the steadiness and intelligence of America's responses.
From our end of the telescope, I see no sign that his advent marks the end of Britain's significance in the relationship. It is limited but not without importance in this new era.
Obama will make wider alliances than Mr Bush (that wouldn't be difficult). But he will continue to need allies prepared to stand by him in the less popular tasks of his presidency. That includes military ones, where we take up more of the burdens other democracies decline. He is smart enough not to consign that part of the relationship to the past, though the need for a reappraisal of both countries' approach to Afghanistan will be an early test of his co-operative instinct in practice.
All Messiahs have feet of clay. This one will be no different. But let's allow ourselves a moment of good faith and pride that politics can, just sometimes, defy the cynics and see the best rise.
The pictures from Washington did not lie yesterday. Obama inspires faith, belief and the stubborn, sustaining attributes of "virtue and hope" against the odds. There's a lesson there - and not just for America.
Reader views (2)
I am glad that the embarassment of the Bush regime is finally over but fear that people here in The United States are too overly optimistic in what Mr Obama can do. I supported Mr Obama from the beginning and hopes he does well but he is not a god and mistakes will be made. I just hope that Americans, who are notoriously impatient and unforgiving, will give Mr Obama a real chance to turn this mess around. It will not happen over night.
- Gerry Burnell, Rochester, 21/01/2009 22:32
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Enjoyed reading this today. Seeing your perpective is very enlightening. Best Wishes for 2009.
BTW we live 15 minutes from Elvis' Graceland and we enjoy interviewing Brits during visits.
- Wendell, Olive Branch MS, USA, 21/01/2009 12:56
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