When Barack Obama enters the Oval Office for the first time tomorrow, the "In" basket on his desk will already be piled high.
The new president has a couple of wars and an economy in a tailspin to deal with. If that were not enough, just about every constituency - from ecologists to dressmakers - seems to have a stake in his presidency. And they are all convinced they have Obama's ear.
An analysis by PolitiFact shows that Obama made 510 promises while running for president - twice as many as George Bush and Bill Clinton - and the fact-checking Web site for the St. Petersburg Times is going to keep track of every one.
FOR THE RECORD - Susan Reimer wrote in her column yesterday that President-elect Barack Obama's new District of Columbia neighbors hoped he would promote their right to vote in presidential elections. Registered voters in Washington already can vote in presidential elections; they cannot vote in congressional elections.
The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.
Obama promised everything from ending the war in Iraq and cutting taxes to establishing programs to help animals survive global warming, according to the Web site. No wonder everybody thinks they have a piece of this guy.
Whatever concrete changes Obama is able to make, the mere fact of who he is is likely to change the cultural landscape in this country.
Comedian Bill Cosby wants black families to take note of the fact that the Obamas are an intact family with an involved father.
And First Wives World, a social network for divorced women, says the inauguration of a man who came from a broken home and was raised by his grandparents will change the perception of "nontraditional" families for the better.
The book publishing industry, suffering through its own hard times, is thrilled with the fact that the new president is so often photographed with a book - history, fiction and poetry - resulting in an immediate spike in sales.
At the National Book Awards, emcee Eric Bogosian, a playwright, said Obama's election was "great news for everyone here tonight because our new president is, in the broadest sense of the world, a reader."
And the new president's brainy reputation means "smart is the new cool," according to Arne Duncan, his nominee for education secretary, and the Washington press corps has dubbed some of Obama's appointees "hot nerds."
"Science, science, science and science," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said when NPR asked her to describe Obama's stimulus package. That means the science guys will be happy with the new president, everybody from the new energy guys to the stem cell guys.
Quincy Jones wants him to name an arts czar, and his new D.C. neighbors want him to give the District the right to vote in presidential elections. College football fans want him to replace the Bowl Championship Series with a playoff.
