Schieffer Comments On Obama's Historic Week

(CBS/John P. Filo)

It really has [been quite a week], Katie, and you know the scene I will always remember was the look on Barack Obama's face when he came out on the Capitol steps and looked out on that great crowd that stretched over a mile before him.

Wouldn't you just love to know what was going through his mind at that moment? He had to be awed by just the sight of that gathering. And with the severity of the problems he faced, no human, no matter how confident, it seems to me, could look out on that crowd and not wonder, "Can I live up to the expectations of all those people?"

Yet, in the three days since then, he has laid out an ambitious program, promises of more transparency in government, new walls between the government and special interests. By executive order, he will close Guantanamo prison, and in outlawing torture, he has told the world that we will practice what we preach. These are not insignificant things, nor is his plan for economic recovery.

But it's gonna take more than just talk to put all that in place. He'll have to rein in some Democrats. He'll have to give Republicans some of what they want and that won't be easy. But I think, Katie, the huge crowds that came to Washington have changed the tone here. If he can take advantage of that, I think he has a real chance to get some of this done. I think he's off to a very good start.