Obama Is The 44th U.S. President; Now What?

November 4, 2008 · The epic, sweeping, sea-changing 2008 election is one for the history books. The overarching question is answered: Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

After defeating Sen. John McCain to become the 44th president, what exactly does Obama do now?

Now is the operative word.




"The world has gotten so speedy," says historian Douglas Brinkley, "that even though Obama will not be inaugurated until Jan. 20, 2009, people will assume that Obama is the president on Wednesday morning, the day after the election."

President Bush "is the lamest of lame-duck presidents we have ever had," says Brinkley, a professor at Rice University and editor of The Reagan Diaries. "Bush is completely ineffective." The economy is unhinged; wars rage overseas; the president's approval ratings have gone to seed.