Obama's reputation may be made even before he gets into the Oval Office. "Yes, Obama will give a great inaugural address," Douglas Brinkley says. "His

Obama's reputation may be made even before he gets into the Oval Office. "Yes, Obama will give a great inaugural address," Douglas Brinkley says. "His speech will be one for the ages. It won't matter."

The important thing is the way Obama handles the period between now and mid-January, Brinkley says. He says he expects the new president to turn for inspiration to the same president that he turned to at the beginning of his campaign: Abraham Lincoln. The new president's campaign was launched in the shadow of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where Lincoln made a political name for himself.

"He has a Lincoln infatuation, coming from Illinois," Brinkley says. "He talks of healing."

One of Obama's favorite books, Brinkley says, is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Lincoln reached out to his adversaries, and Brinkley says he believes Obama will do the same -– to Republicans such as Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gen. Colin Powell, who was Secretary of State under George W. Bush. Even to John McCain.

And to leaders of other countries.