Businessweek and the Obama Age Progression Cover

Nelson Mandela, anyone?

Obama is 51 years old; in four years he’ll be 55 and we all know that even dramatic aging won’t do what Bloomberg Businessweek just did to the president. So, taken as a metaphor for the problems facing his administration, will the next four years be a greater challenge than those facing Obama in his first term? I’d only agree with Bloomberg’s premise vis-à-vis global warming and climate change. The rest of the hugely weighty challenges confronting Obama in his second term will be the same-sized mountains he climbed (and is still climbing) in his first.

By the way, below are Obama’s 2005 U.S. Senate portrait, the 2008 official presidential portrait, and Obama phone banking on Monday in Ohio. It looks like the process is proceeding just a little slower than that.