Biden hits ground running, but will a new day dawn in America?

IN his inaugural address last week US President Joe Biden appealed for a fresh start for a nation wounded by political divisions and recovering from a violent assault on the US Capitol: a renewed sense of unity and commitment for democratic principles, a return to truth and decency, and a growing respect for the rule of law.

Those are all noble goals that are central to what continues to make America a great success story in human history. Attaining them in the aftermath of four years under a president who was unfit for the job, during which its global image was tarnished, should help the US regain its status as a political and economic model to the rest of the world. But with US deaths from Covid-19 expected to soon pass 500,000 and with millions of Americans out of work, the challenges facing the 46th president in the first 100 days of his administration would require more than just delivering inspiring speeches. They would demand leadership and competence, the kind that may be expected from a statesman who has served more than five decades in Washington, as a senator and later as a vicepresident, and who would now be in charge of repairing America.

Getting the deadly virus under control will top his agenda, and he must marshall the resources of the federal government to help the states carry out a national vaccination programme. Indications that the pandemic is being trounced could help President Biden in advancing his next goal - economic recovery - the prospects of which aren't bad considering the massive fiscal and monetary stimulus that the federal government has been pumping into the economy.