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As Barack Obama Plunges In
Michelle and Barack Obama smile broadly on the Feb. 2 cover "The Morning After," but next to their picture you state: "Why Obama's job will be even harder than he thought." Franklin Delano Roosevelt's smile never failed him through the Great Depression and World War II. That was the secret of his leadership: unfailing optimism and belief in pragmatic solutions. Let's not underestimate Obama's ability to follow FDR's example, smiling through the worst of times while finding practical answers to our problems.
Fred Fenton
Concord, California

Jacob Weisberg's Feb. 2 essay headline reads "Obama's Big-Picture Problem." With a $14 trillion economy, the United States can afford to protect its citizens' health but doesn't. Japan's relatively puny $4.4 trillion economy offers national health insurance even to foreigners. I'm staying here while my fellow Americans get their priorities straight. Fortunately, President Obama sees the big picture and understands that our health is essential for a vibrant, dynamic economy and nation.
Michael G. Driver
Chiba, Japan

What an inspiration: the inauguration of a black president as the head of the most powerful country in the world. Now that the pomp is over, President Barack Obama faces the challenge of living up to America's moral promise while fulfilling the practical needs of world order. Given the country's staggering federal debt, coupled with a severe economic situation, Abraham Lincoln's model sounds perfect for Obama. As Lincoln did during his first term, Obama can cut federal salaries across the board, including his own. Among the most sobering challenges is tackling poverty and homelessness and making health care available to all Americans. If Obama is faithful to the principles of the Founding Fathers, America will regain its credibility. To restore the United States to greatness is what we yearn for. Wasn't it Obama who said that all Americans have roles in rebuilding the nation?
Dan Chellumben
Amboise, France

I wholeheartedly agree with Fareed Zakaria when he reminds us that President Obama needs to urgently tackle America's biggest challenge: to re-create the country's economic model ("There's More to Fear Than Fear," Feb. 2). Executive orders ending torture, closing Guantánamo and restoring stem-cell research, while representing important campaign promises, make for welcome headlines but are cosmetic gestures when compared with reclaiming America's pride as the economic world leader. It would be nice if Obama's rescue plan respected free-trade principles but, if necessary, the United States should have the courage to become protectionist for as long as it takes to rescue the national economy. The pathetically ineffectual schmoozefest of the DavosWorld Economic Forum tried to discuss "postcrisis management" as if the global economy had already turned the corner—and yet nobody seems to know which corner to look for, let alone how to deal with it. Obama's proverbial first 100 days ought to focus solely on the economy. When America's ills are cured and the patient can be released, the rest of the world will come off the critical list as well. Only then can Obama start to be multilateralist, popular, visionary and truly free again. Until then, it's even too late for fear.
Karl H. Pagac
Villeneuve-Loubet, France

It was remarkable to read about the common bond of international experience and understanding that President Obama and some of his closest advisers share ("A Team of Expatriates," Jan. 26). The tone of the new administration and its instinctive recognition of America's need to lead responsibly and engage collaboratively with the rest of the world are hallmarks of a new era of leadership that understands the crucial importance of a global perspective. Young Americans want to follow their lead, and one of the best ways is through foreign study. As a senator, President Obama joined colleagues from both sides of the aisle in supporting the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, an innovative piece of legislation that would make it possible for many more American college students to learn about and experience other cultures. We cannot delay the urgent task of ensuring that the next generation of Americans is well prepared for life and leadership in the global age.
Marlene M. Johnson
Executive Director and CEO NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Washington, D.C.

Is it fair to make George W. Bush the scapegoat of the current economic fiasco in the United States ("The Enigma in Chief," Jan. 19)? Isn't it always convenient to blame someone in retrospect? If Bush were really as incompetent as suggested, then why did Americans re-elect him in 2004 after the Iraq invasion? Bush could well be a less-than-fortunate victim of circumstance and misinformation. The world should leave him alone, and let history take care of him.
Zizenn Chaan
Sydney, Australia

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the wonderful role that NEWSWEEK has played in my life this past year. The Feb. 2 issue, and especially your Commemorative Inaugural Edition, describe a transformative event in United States and world history. Your singular publication reflects the hopes and ambitions that many of us have had for many years and suspected we would never see so fully realized—or expressed.
Paul E. Munsell
Guatemala City, Guatemala