Curtain rises on American dream

THE day was chilly even by Washington standards, but the 1.8 million eyewitnesses didn't seem to mind. Up in front of them on a bulletproof-glass-protected balcony, Barack Obama had one hand raised and his other on the bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and was repeating the brief oath required to become the 44th president of the United States.

Oath completed – if slightly fluffed – the beaming new president kissed his wife, Michelle, and his school-age daughters, Malia and Sasha. Then he turned to the crowd – chanting "Obama, Obama" – stretching into the distance. On a cold, wintry afternoon last Tuesday, America's first black president was ready for business.

The passing of the torch was marked in myriad ways and venues, including when "Hail to the Chief" was played for the first time for Obama as he walked into the congressional luncheon. Only a few moments earlier, he and his wife waved goodbye to George Bush and Laura Bush outside the Capitol, with the 43rd and the 44th presidents hugging one another for several seconds, followed by another handshake, before the helicopter carried them away.

For Obama, Inauguration Day on Tuesday kept going and going. His early morning workout in the privacy of his temporary quarters at the Blair House surely seemed like a distant memory as he prepared to give his momentous-by-definition inaugural speech in which he pledged that America, a nation beset by economic troubles and two wars, was ready to "lead once more".

While Obama was the centre of attention, his daughters were seldom far from his side, with the television cameras trained closely on their movements. Whispers could be heard, including Sasha's commentary on her father's 18-minute Inaugural Address. "That was a pretty good speech, Dad," she told her father.

Obama, the first president since John F Kennedy to come directly from the Senate to the White House, savoured his inauguration over a lunch inside the Capitol. A hearty seafood stew topped with puff pastry countered the day's chill. The celebratory mood inside Statuary Hall, which sits between the House and Senate chambers, quickly turned as Senator Edward M Kennedy suffered a seizure just as dessert was being served.

The President was among those who rushed over to lend aid and comfort to Kennedy as paramedics arrived. The luncheon continued and the President called for prayers. "I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now, a part of me is with him," said Obama to the other guests; he has grown close to Kennedy after he endorsed his presidential candidacy one year ago. "This is a joyous time, but it's also a sobering time."

When the luncheon finished, Obama led off the inaugural parade from the Capitol to the White House, paying homage to pioneers who paved the way for the US's first black leader. As he had poignantly remarked earlier in his speech, he was "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant".

It was a day that marked out Obama's businesslike style, tempered by the need to connect with his audience. When he took the salute of his troops in his new role of commander-in-chief, each branch of the armed forces was rewarded with a crisp and correct salute. Observers said it looked as though he had been practising. He had.

Then to rousing cheers, on the way to the White House, the new President and his wife stepped out of their limousine to greet part of the enthusiastic crowd that lined the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue. Secret servicemen looked nervous. By evening, Obama was preparing to move on to a series of balls across Washington while the kids had their own "scavenger hunt" organised by White House staff in their new home and a sleep-over for friends. Mum and dad arrived back just after 1am after their 10-ball marathon.

It was 8.35am when President Obama walked into the Oval Office on Wednesday, taking a seat behind the desk for the first time. An envelope was waiting, affixed with an inscription that needed no explanation: "To (NUMBER) 44. From (NUMBER) 43."

Ten minutes later, contents digested, the first full day of the Obama administration formally began. Bright morning sunshine, pouring in through the tall windowpanes, illuminated Obama's face. In a photograph distributed by the White House, the new President could be seen sitting between two flags, holding the telephone to his ear. In phone calls to Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, Obama emphasised that he would work to consolidate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

He wore a white shirt and a blue tie, with his suit coat not visible in the picture. And that simple fact signalled a change in the White House. Bush had a hard-and-fast rule: neither he nor his guests were allowed in the Oval Office without a jacket and tie.

Obama had pledged to "hit the ground running" and he was true to his word. One of his first acts to distance himself from the previous White House regime by announcing the suspension of the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, the prison camp for war-on-terror detainees in Cuba, and circulate a plan to shut it in a year.

Shortly after 1pm he began an address to staff and Cabinet secretaries. "Welcome to the White House. Did I tell you there won't be any pay raises?" was the gist of his message. Obama also signed the first executive order of his presidency, which included a measure intended to fulfil a campaign promise by closing what he called the "revolving door" of people who immediately move from government to lobbying.

At 2.30pm, wife Michelle was back at his side to host a White House "open house" for supporters. Meetings with his senior economic advisers, to discuss the financial crisis, and his military commanders from Iraq, were to follow.

There was a little bit of unfinished business to attend to as well. Obama had to take his oath of office again. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts returned in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath slightly wrong, which prompted Obama to do so, too.

The scene was the White House Map Room in front of a small group of reporters, not the Capitol platform before the whole watching world. "Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked. "Yes, I am," Obama replied. "And we're going to do it very slowly." The White House assured the nation that Obama had been President since noon on Inauguration Day.

On Thursday, the headlines kept coming. As well as ordering the closure of Guantanamo, Obama also closed down the CIA's secret prison network and banned torture and rendition flights in which suspects were flown clandestinely to countries where torture was not illegal.

The visit of the new commander in chief to the State Department underscored a major theme of his young administration: that diplomacy will play a more central role in American foreign policy. "The inheritance of our young century demands a new era of American leadership," he said.

With his new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at his side he named former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke as a special coordinator of US policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan and George J Mitchell, the retired Senate majority leader, as his special envoy to the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Obama won his battle to keep hold of his BlackBerry. In the run-up to his inauguration it was assumed that Obama would relinquish his beloved handheld device amid the fear of leaks and privacy concerns, but it was announced on Thursday night that the BlackBerry would stay, albeit a new one with beefed-up security.

Friday continued the march to reverse contentious Bush administration policies, ending the ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information about it.

"In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world," Obama said.

On his third full day in office, Obama reached out to key US allies, phoning Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Saudi King Abdullah. He also spoke to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The talks with Brown were "friendly and substantive".

Obama also turned his attention to the biggest worry of Americans – the deepening recession. In return for bipartisan support, he assured Congressional leaders that federal funds would be made available for a £602m fiscal stimulus package. He told them: "We are experiencing an unprecedented… economic crisis that has to be dealt with, and dealt with rapidly." A crunch vote on his tax cuts and spending package takes place this week.

Most political analysts were impressed with the speed that Obama got to grips with his major challenges. As one newspaper advertisement for a TV news channel put it: "In his first 100 hours he closed prisons, encouraged peace, started rebuilding the economy and was sworn in, twice. So what will he achieve in his first 100 days?"