Barack Obama's inauguration: Brace yourself to be underwhelmed Fleeting hopes among some Democrat thinkers that Mr Obama, now freed from the need ever to seek re-election again, would paint with a broader, bolder brush already look wildly optimistic. The world largely welcomed the end of rash, Bush-era interventionism, but Mr Obama's at-times painful prudence has left deep uncertainties in its place. The nomination of the war-loathing Chuck Hagel as defence secretary, talk of a "zero option" in Afghanistan and, if anything, even less backing for rebels in Syria do not bode well for those hoping this president would show more international gumption in his second term. At home, despite the fig-leaf success of a last-minute deal over avoiding the fiscal cliff, America's long-term financial woes - which CEOs at the Detroit Motor Show last week warned continue to undermine long-term confidence - are no closer to resolution. Even the "deal-that-never-was" between Mr Obama and John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the house, amounted only to $2.5 trillion in cuts and revenues over 10 years, when more than $4 trillion was needed to start to turn back the sapping tide of debt. To do that, Mr Obama will have to make a serious offer to reduce entitlements, which above all means coming clean that Medicare, the pensioners' healthcare scheme, simply cannot continue in its current form or within 15 years it will account for 40 per cent of all US Federal spending. Alas, he shows no intention of doing this. On the issue of gun control, Mr Obama has shown superficial leadership, mobilising his grassroots election machine to appeal to the public over the heads of Congress - and a similar strategy is planned on immigration - but it is hard to see how this translates into downstream legislative achievement. As with his crowing victory over forcing Republicans to raise taxes on the well off, the over-riding tone has been one of narrow, single-issue political point scoring. The announcement that the "Obama for America" campaign machine is to be turned into a permanent, non-profit cheerleading group suggest more of the same to come. Notable by its absence - as it was from both parties during the election - is any broader Obama strategy to fix America's problems: no recognition of how the world's most powerful nation now finds itself at a fiscal and strategic pivot-point, no real vision of how America intends to fit Western values into an Asian century. Mr Obama's supporters contend that the piecemeal achievements will yet add up to a lasting legacy: passing universal healthcare (if indeed that's how it turns out when Obamacare is implemented next year), exiting two unwanted wars, heading off the financial crisis, bailing out the auto industry and using the fruits of America's domestic energy boom to create a more competitive, greener economy. But an inauguration must be about more than increments. Perhaps this will be the moment that Mr Obama comes clean to the American people about both the perils they face - as his hero, "Honest" Abe Lincoln did when addressing the issues of slavery in his own second inaugural nearly 150 years ago - and the remedies required. On past performance, however, we must brace ourselves to be underwhelmed.