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For a man who built his campaign on optimism and the can-do spirit, President Barack Obama's pronouncements on the economy after he took his oath of office on January 20 have been unexpectedly grim. He warned that the damage to the economy might take years to repair, and some of it may be irreparable.

On Tuesday, the president seemed to revive the spirit of 'yes, we can'. In his address to the joint session of the US Congress, he said "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

This is more like what FD Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan - effective Presidents during times of crisis - have said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" and we need to "believe in ourselves."