Washington, DC:

Washington is gearing up for the inauguration of its new president next week. The outgoing president is saying his goodbyes and Cabinet nominees are going through confirmation hearings. City officials are preparing to receive up to three million visitors.

Washingtonians who shudder at the thought their city will be overrun by this rush are packing their bags for ski holidays, while the city's hotels begin to fill up with guests. Journalists are flying in from all over the world. In the midst of a difficult time, it is a rare, happy moment for taxi drivers and restaurateurs.

Roads and bridges will be closed and many businesses shuttered on the day. The police have said that once the parade route is filled to capacity, they will turn away spectators. Meanwhile, dozens of balls are planned around the city as the American tradition of fêting a new president is maintained. Whereas other countries swear in their governments in quick, low-key affairs, the Americans wait months to do it and surround it with the festivity of a coronation.

Because that is pretty much what it is. Back in the days of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, I often felt that commentators who insisted that a president's personal behaviour had no bearing on his job overlooked a key point: despite their fervent republicanism, and their successful experiment in creating one of history's first republics, Americans actually like royalty. You see it each every time a member of the British royal family visits (you also hear it in the accents outside Buckingham Palace).

And, as much as they would never fathom the return of a monarchy, they look to their president to play the role of king - maintaining ceremony, and projecting images that reassure the nation. Just as Britons expect of their royal family, they also like if their first family embodies something of American values, which are relatively conservative.

Difficult time

There is, I suspect, something comforting about the first family that will move into the White House next Tuesday. America faces an extraordinarily difficult time. The presence in the White House of a first family that appears to be in many ways like ordinary American families, will no doubt be a symbolic asset to the new president.

And as anyone can see, he will need all the help he can get. The enthusiasm greeting the ascent to office of the United States' first black president is felt around the world. But he will enjoy no honeymoon. The economic crisis deepens, markets are threatening to resume their tailspin, and the government will confront immediate challenges in a Middle East at war.

Criticise

So, let the Obamas enjoy the party. As soon as the sun rises the next day, it will all be over. And his presidency will be defined by challenges as grave as any that have faced an incoming president in over half a century. Although good will towards Obama is high at the moment - nobody wants to be the first to criticise him - the going will get tough at once. Even though President Obama will work with a Congress that is filled with Democrats, that is no guarantee they will give him an easy ride. On the contrary, as Bill Clinton will tell anyone, a Democratic Congress can be no great friend to a Democratic president.

Still, that will await next Wednesday. For now, with tickets to the inauguration reportedly selling on the Internet for close to a thousand dollars, everyone just wants a piece of the action.

Luckily for them, they can leave Washington when it's over. But Mr Obama will have to stay behind and start the clean-up.

John Rapley is president of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) an independent think tank affiliated to the UWI, Mona. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com