President Barack Obama's inauguration speech was both inspiring and pragmatic, but now much work needs to be done.
Let's not simply brush aside the gravity of the moment Tuesday when the first African-American took office. While it's a giant step for Obama, it's also a leap forward for our country, something he noted when he said of himself, "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
Obama has a moment now -- a brief window in time -- when he has the political capital to fix America's challenges. And the challenges are many.
The financial system is still on life support. We've known for decades that entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are on train tracks to insolvency and done nothing. We're fighting two wars -- and a larger, global one. Our energy policy is non-existent. Other nations which used to look to the United States in friendship now look in fear. Our infrastructure is crumbling. Unemployment is high. The economy continues to falter.
Obama struck the right tone by thinking big, yet knowing the bar is high to clear these challenges.
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We'll be sure to watch his actions to see how they measure up to his rhetoric. He faces a big uphill climb, but seems to be putting his hiking boots on.
