Winners

Associated Press/Photo by Chuck Kennedy

If Barack Obama had to choose his best day of 2009, it would not be surprising if his thoughts returned to Jan. 20, the day he stood on the U.S. Capitol steps and became the nation's first African-American president, just days before the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Then Obama looked out upon the estimated 2 million cheering observers crammed into the National Mall (not to mention nearly 38 million watching on TV) and pledged nothing less than to "begin again the work of remaking America." Washington's frigid temperatures warmed up to festivities: Democrats rejoiced over controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue for the first time since 1994. A diverse combination of moderates, independents, and young voters celebrated Obama's claim to the words change and hope. Vendors hawked anything that could be engraved, painted, inscribed, or printed with Obama's likeness. Obama began the year as a ­winner, taking the oath of office with an 80 percent approval rating, but by early December—despite the international acclaim of winning the Nobel Peace Prize—his job approval in a Gallup poll stood at 47 percent. — The Editors