Watching the performers pay tribute to him during Sunday’s televised concert at the Lincoln Memorial, I wondered how Barack Obama deals with the adulation and the expectations. How does he keep his head on straight while Tom Hanks, Bono, Tiger Woods, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and millions of other people are telling him how wonderful he is? How does he manage the anxiety that comes with knowing that billions of people all over the world will be watching on Tuesday, waiting to hear him explain how he will make their lives better?

I suppose a sense of humility becomes easier when he wakes up on Wednesday morning. When the people have all gone home, the TV sets are turned off and the excitement of the Inauguration has passed, he will be left with a clearer view of the magnitude of the problems facing him. And us.

BTW, if you’re not an HBO subscriber, the video of the concert, “We Are One,” is being streamed here.

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