Following, in no particular order, are some initial thoughts about, and impressions of, our new president.  Obviously, it is far too soon to know if these inklings are perceptive or completely lacking in intuition.  In any event, it will be interesting to revisit this post in twelve months and beyond.

• Obama talks a great game when it comes to bipartisanship; however, true bipartisanship is about more than convincing the other side to do things your way.  It involves actual, substantive compromise.  Candidate Obama, aided by a sympathetic media, was masterful at giving the impression he was listening to opposing views.  President Obama is getting a quick lesson that listening is not enough when you're actually the Decider-in-Chief.  Listener-in-Chief won't cut it—as was just proven with the House's vote on the stimulus package.  Despite "listening" to Republican ideas, the President garnered exactly zero Republican votes.  Listening, without compromise, is ostensibly meaningless. 
• It is not yet clear to me who Obama is.  In many respects, he has shown himself to be quite different than advertised.  During the campaign, the Right attempted to paint him as a committed ultra Leftist.  So far, that characterization has not proven particularly accurate.  For each traditionally liberal action, such as the big government approach to stimulus he supports, or appointments for CIA and Trade Representative, there have been many other more moderate actions (e.g. cabinet picks for Education, Defense, NSA, Treasury, and State; and indications that he won't rubber stamp organized labor's agenda).  It's possible that he is left of center rather than left of left, and merely used the Chicago machine to advance his political aspirations.  It is also feasible that he had a centrist epiphany.  We shall see.
• Obama should realize that although his election was an inspiration to many, and he is generally viewed as an inspirational figure, the position requires overt optimism.  His incessant talking down of our current situation in order to lower expectations and shift blame is impeding our ability to recover.  As Eisenhower said, "Optimism and pessimism are infectious, and they are spread more rapidly from the head downward."  Obama, and most others, are dramatically overestimating what is necessary to reverse the downturn, and the time frame in which it can happen.  It is almost all a matter of confidence.
• Although blessed with numerous positive traits, I worry that Obama may be afflicted with an especially undesirable characteristic for a president—a desire to be all things to all people.  He has shown early signs of being hyper-sensitive to criticism.  In a 60 Minutes interview prior to the election, he said that he pays particular attention to negative media so that he can better craft his message.  That is a double-edged sword.  During the campaign, we witnessed how he'd say one thing to a west coast constituent group, then turn around and say something very different to a gathering on the east coast.  At some point, you have to have the courage of your convictions.  Basic principles and philosophies can't seemingly change with the wind.  Margaret Thatcher once said of Ronald Reagan, "He only had five or six ideas, but all of them were big and all of them were good."
• Style points quickly fade into oblivion when not followed by real results.  In his rush to make a bold statement on Gitmo, Obama may have out run his coverage.  It appears that he made a commitment before fully thinking through and understanding all the complexities (his complete national security team was not even in place).  Bush took ready, shoot, aim to a new level.  Let's hope Obama is not following in his footsteps.
• Obama's decision to keep his Blackberry is troubling.  That device will be the target of hackers across the world.  It's stubborn and amateurish to put national security at risk (no matter the enhanced protections) for a relatively minor convenience.  Style should not trump sound judgment.

Overall, I think Obama is having a bit of trouble finding his footing.  He would benefit from calming down, slowing down, worrying less about style, and focusing on making sound, well-informed decisions.  He has a tremendous amount of domestic and international goodwill, but that will evaporate quickly if a sketchy decision comes back to bite him.  I like his upside, but he needs to smooth out the edges.