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OBAMA'S AMERICA
Who We Are Now
Are we witnessing the birth of a new nation?
Are we witnessing the birth of...
Photos: Gerald Forster for Newsweek
Jan. 26, 2009 issue
LETTERS
Beyond Words
From slavery to the presidency, NEWSWEEK takes a special look at Obama's inauguration through letters to past and future generations.
COVER STORY: OBAMA'S AMERICA
Who We Are Now
We have a new president. But he, too, has a new nation to lead, one that's changing almost beyond recognition.
FIRST PERSON
My Inaugural Memories
John Lewis, RFK Jr., Karl Rove and others remember past inaugurations.
IDENTITY
On an overnight bus from Chicago to D.C. to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.
ESSAY
Virtue, hard work and hope: Obama spoke like a true community organizer.
INAUGURATION 2009
The new president and the link between economics and freedom.
POLITICS
As the GOP rebuilds, some would-be party leaders are borrowing phrases from Barack Obama.
RUBRIC
Can Obama's new whitehouse.gov deliver all that it promises?
THE ARTS
Everyone wants a bailout. But President Obama will need to invest in the arts, too.
BETWEEN THE LINES
Obama's address was a prose speech for a time of rough renewal
INAUGURATION 2009
Since Washington's reluctant speech, few Inaugural Addresses have been inspired. But some have soared.
INAUGURATION 2009
The Saddleback pastor's invocation was inevitable, surprising
INAUGURATION
A poem for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration.
LIVING POLITICS
Obama's speech reflected his zeal to remake America's image in the eyes of the world
INAUGURATION 2009
No president had a more complicated relationship with issues of race, but he deserves credit for paving the way for a black man to reach the White House.
INAUGURATION 2009
Lincoln promised a 'new birth of freedom.' With his hand on Lincoln's Bible, Obama fulfills that pledge.
NATION
The WPA fixed the economy by creating unusual careers. Should that be the plan for today's unemployed Americans?
INAUGURATION 2009
From 1776 to Sumter, from Selma to Obama, we've been shaped by the fights for freedom.
OPINION
Obama should avoid the blame game on Bush's security failings.
FIRST PERSON
John Lewis, RFK Jr., Karl Rove and others remember past inaugurations.
COVER STORY: OBAMA’S AMERICA
We have a new president. But he, too, has a new nation to lead, one that's changing almost beyond recognition.
GEOGRAPHY
Many of Obama's top advisers, like an increasing number of Americans, have learned and lived abroad.
Education
Getting fifth graders to think about college seems a little goofy. But it's key to the prospects of the next generation.
AGE
Doug Paul grew up in the midst of the Reagan Revolution. Now he's on the other side of a yawning evangelical generation gap.
LIFE AND WORK
For a new breed of professional,life is a blend of work and leisure, where you're never in the right place.
The Democrats
Don't get carried away by the demographics: Texas isn't flipping blue.
POLITICS
Gavin Newsom, a vocal supporter of gay marriage, is betting his future on the fact that social attitudes are growing more liberal.
POLITICS
There's no need to abandon basic Republican principles. Instead, just cool the scorched-earth rhetoric and focus on reclaiming the educated middle class.
Life And Work
American society is based on the idea that 'anyone' can reach the top. But the gap between rich and poor is growing, and the ladder seems to be disappearing.
Religion
A surprising number of Americans are switching religions.
DIVERSITY
America can either flourish or fade in the new global economy. It all depends on what we do about the fastest-growing segment of the country's population.
IMMIGRATION
A dying Maine mill town gets a fresh burst of energy.
GEOGRAPHY
Washington needs to recognize that many of the country's biggest problems—and biggest opportunities—have moved beyond the city limits to the burbs.
DIVERSITY
Like any major organization catering to kids, the Boy Scouts of America need to attract young Latinos in order to survive.
THE PRESIDENCY
How Bush should spin his legacy.
POLITICS
Americans are optimistic about Obama, but pessimistic about the state of affairs, according to the new NEWSWEEK poll.
CAPITOL LETTER
The president elect has excited America with promises of better government. But will this car drive?
THE ARTS
Homeowners, banks, Detroit—everyone wants a bailout. But President Obama will need to invest serious money, and time, boosting the arts, too.
POLITICS
MIDEAST
He should get tough with Israel.
MONEY CULTURE
Why politicians and economists can't decide.
THE WORLD FROM WASHINGTON
How will she navigate between Bill and Barack?
THE LAST WORD
The atmosphere demands it, the American people need it. The Inaugural Address should be the first salvo by an orator in chief.
TERROR WATCH
Why are Democrats criticizing Obama's CIA pick?
RELIGION
The left can breathe easy. Rick Warren is not Obama's Billy Graham.
MILITARY
On gays, Obama's Joint Chiefs chair is caught between his boss and a conservative military.
THE GLOBAL ELITE
The new U.S. president will be judged by whether he can save capitalism.
THE GLOBAL ELITE
Obama's Treasury secretary will help define the new global financial system.
THE GLOBAL ELITE
Obama means to control Washington. His chief of staff will be at the wheel.
THE GLOBAL ELITE
Under Obama, there will be a new elite in Washington. Some of its members:
JUDGMENT CALLS
He can't control long-term entitlement spending unless he curbs health care, which accounts for a quarter of the federal budget.
HISTORY
Lincoln, himself, was paradoxical—as is the way we see him now. To really know the 16th president, look past the ways in which we remember him.
THE BIG IDEA
Did Bush's own innocence and incompetence drive his missteps? Or was he manipulated into his bad choices?
THE GLOBAL ELITE
At No. 30 and 31, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett will carry new weight in the White House.
TRANSITION
What Obama's team needs to understand.
GLOBAL AGENDA
GLOBAL AGENDA
GLOBAL AGENDA
GLOBAL AGENDA
GLOBAL AGENDA
THE BIG IDEA
Obama should give greater weight to intellectual acumen and subject-specific knowledge than recent predecessors have.
POLITICS
An informal survey finds America's mayors crying out for immediate federal relief from the economic crisis.
THE TRANSITION
The Obamas have a head start among First Families in learning to live with the Secret Service's constant presence.
CAREERS
So you want to get a job in the new Obama administration? Here's how to go about it.
POWERING UP
Winning is half the battle. A history of bumpy transitions.
TAKING OVER
Inside Obama's chief-of-staff selection.
THE ROAD TO THE INAUGURATION
The First Lady readies her family for Washington
HOW HE DID IT 2008
Obama will need the spirits of Kennedy, FDR and Lincoln, and also a patient public.
HOW HE DID IT 2008
Obama can create a new governing ideology for the West
JUDGMENT CALLS
Making the rich poorer doesn't make everyone else richer
LIVING POLITICS
Voices Of Experience
Advice to the incoming administration—from players past
THE PRESIDENT'S INBOX
THE PRESIDENT'S INBOX
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, tonight is your answer.
President-elect Barack Obama, claiming his victory as the 44th commander in chief of the United States before a crowd of more than 70,000 in Chicago
News/Week
- Twenty five years feels right in my bones and right in my spirit. Oprah on ending her showCST
- It’s going to be a holy war Orrin Hatch on debate over the Senate health billNYT
- The nation and the world will see him for the coward he is Holder, on trying KSMAP
- I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will have to say. Holder on terror trialsREUT
- The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist. Sarah Palin on the magazine coverCSM