By Susan Page | USA Today
How can a new president restore a sense of normalcy at a time nothing seems normal?
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. takes the oath of office Wednesday amid crises that rival the worst in American history, earning comparisons to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1933 during the Great Depression and as storm clouds gathered over Europe. Or Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration in 1861 as seven Southern states seceded and the Civil War loomed.
But challenges can also be opportunities. Those earlier times of catastrophe forged pivotal moments and presidencies now heralded among the nation’s most consequential.