From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Originally published Sunday, Jan. 18

… Obama’s inaugural words will draw as attentive an audience as could be imagined. We will listen with hope — hope more than optimism.

That has nothing to do with our assessment of the next president. Obama is genuinely exciting in his intellectual power, coolness and focus.

But Obama is entering office in the middle of a steep national decline that extends far beyond the severe, still-spreading recession. We have wasted lives and treasure in a war of choice, wrongly launched on the basis of propaganda. We put marginal economic advantage ahead of working aggressively with allies on climate change. …

It will take time for Obama to restore any presumption that U.S. policy is being conducted in good faith. It won’t be easy to untangle the remaining troubles in Iraq, even though the situation has improved, or to chart a new course in Afghanistan.

But the most persistent, daunting challenges will be in the economy. … Obama has a four-year term; it may provide enough time only to start a recovery.

On Inauguration Day, though, we don’t want to look back. We want to hear where Obama wants to inspire the country to go. …