As the opening act of Obama’s fledgling presidency unfolded, the country — and the
world — kept a close eye on the 44th
president’s every important move.

$3.6 trillion is the audacious size of the 2010 budgetary framework Obama unveiled. His economists estimate that the federal deficit will balloon to $1.75 trillion. Obama promises to cut that deficit in half eventually, but critics charge that his projections are optimistic.