You'd be hard-pressed to travel anywhere in the world today, pick up a random newspaper, and not see Barack Obama on the front page.

If optimism about the candidate has dimmed since his much-heralded election, newspaper editors have not been informed.

The inauguration ceremonies made clear there's at least one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on wholeheartedly Washington: that the U.S. is an exceptional country, a model and beacon for the rest of the world, anything but a crumbling empire with a has-been economy and an inability to protect itself, as global rivals might have it. That President Obama so clearly carries hopes from around the world on his shoulders this morning will only reinforce that idea.

In addition to the newspaper front pages below, you can browse more A1s at the Newseum website.