As Barack Obama took the oath to become the 44th president of the United States Tuesday in front of a crowd of roughly two million, we asked two Syracuse University professors what they thought about the event and what Americans can expect from the incoming administration.

Meet the Experts:

Hub Brown, associate professor, broadcast journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public of Communications

Danny Hayes, assistant professor, political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

The Daily Orange: How do you think this inauguration compared to those you’ve seen in the past?

Brown: I think obviously each one of these advances a little because of technology, and the ability to see it through different channels. [It’s] the biggest inauguration probably in my lifetime, certainly in my lifetime.

The D.O.: How do you think they presented the information in a balanced way?

Brown: I think something that stood out to me about all of these -I speak not just as a broadcast journalism professor, but as an African-American – is that there was so much emphasis on that this is a big day for African-Americans and that is good and it is true and it’s important, but it’s a big day for all Americans.

The peaceful transfer of power is a great thing for a country and a great thing for all of us. African-Americans have a reason to celebrate, but all Americans have a reason to celebrate today. Sometimes that gets a little bit lost in the history of the racial nature, which is important, but I think we have to stop and consider the fact that Obama is now president of the United States, he’s president of all of us. A lot of people who are not African-American participated in getting him elected. It’s also important to remember that as we move forward, we must never forget how far this country has come. Everybody has a stake in this and everybody is a part of it.

The D.O.: Should the American public still be watchdogs on Washington despite their faith in Obama?

Hayes: It’s good for citizens to be vigilant and skeptical of what their government is doing. The following that Obama has, has made more people more hopeful that the government can tackle the problems it faces. Certainly that doesn’t mean that people should accept at face value everything that Obama says. I think that a healthy dose of skepticism is good for democracy. So I don’t think that people should stop being concerned about what the government is doing just because we have a new president in office.

The D. O.: What should we prepare for in the way of policy decisions?

Hayes: I think that most people would be wise to expect that change in the economic situation and health care reform and changes in foreign policy for the most part are going to happen gradually. The president and Congress only have so much ability to do those things quickly, because of the way that the democratic process works. Those things take time, so I think that people with high expectations need to be realistic about the kinds of things that happen in an administration. The Constitution makes it hard for public policy to be changed quickly and the framers wanted it that way. So Obama and his administration will be faced with the same challenges everyone else has been since 1789.

Published on January 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm