Obama's Moment Arrives

LP note: The subtitle below is a little silly. Of course Obama will redefine the Presidency. Every President redefines the Presidency, some for better, some for worse. Mr. Obama's predecessor redefined the Presidency to perhaps its lowest ebb ever — not in terms of power but in terms of how much damage he could inflict upon the nation.

The good news for Mr. Obama is that the bar now for success as President is incredibly low. He could probably clear it without even leaving the ground. The bad news is that he is not starting on a level playing field.

When George W. Bush inherited the Presidency from Bill Clinton, the country was not at war, the economy was strong, and the federal government was paying off its debts, not amassing greater ones. When Barack Obama takes over today, all three of these conditions will be just the opposite.

Because of this, Mr. Obama has no choice but to redefine the Presidency: He has to... for the sake of the country and the world....

Historians Say He Could Redefine the Presidency

By Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Barack Obama takes office today with a realistic prospect of joining the ranks of history's most powerful presidents.

The more familiar observation, that he confronts daunting trials, enhances that prospect. Emergencies have always brought commensurate new authority for the presidents who faced them, not only because the public demanded action but also because rival branches of government went along.

Obama arrives with a rare convergence of additional strengths, some of them inherited and some of his own making. Predicting a presidency, to be sure, is hazardous business, and much will depend on Obama's choices and fortune. But historians, recent White House officials and senior members of the incoming team expressed broad agreement that Obama begins his term in command of an office that is at or near its historic zenith.

"The opportunity is there for Obama to recast the very nature of the presidency," said Sean Wilentz, a presidential historian at Princeton. "Not since Reagan have we had as capable a persuader as Obama, and not since FDR has a president come in with quite the configuration of foreign and domestic crises that open up such a possibility for the reconstruction of the executive."

More here.