It is hard to believe that any image of our times can possibly outstrip that of Barack Obama on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, his hand raised, taking the oath of office.

The internet president does pretty well in front of crowds, too. (Associated Press) It's a picture that will flash around the world.

Is it possible there is anyone who won't see that a man of colour is now the most powerful politician in the world? A world where, indeed, the majority are people of similar hue.

What is also important about this event is that Obama comes to office at a time when his country is in deep peril. Mired down in Iraq, struggling in Afghanistan, betrayed by its financial community, underserved by its elected officials, voters nevertheless gave the freshman senator from Illinois a substantial election victory.

Add to this the fact that his support appears to have continued growing since his election in November, despite the increasingly grim news of the country's financial future. What's more, polls indicate that growing support at home is duplicated around the world.

Inaugurals past

There have been 55 presidential inaugurations in the past and, in the modern era, only two others approached the importance and necessity of this one on Tuesday.

In 1933, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. One in four Americans was unemployed and there were no social safety nets like today.

FDR inauguration in 1933 on the steps of the Capitol building. (Associated Press)

Coming to office, Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation, "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."

His administration made mistakes and struggled for years to bring the economy back, and many say that the Second World War was as much responsible for the recovery as FDR's policies.

But none deny his leadership.

Flash forward almost 30 years. It's mostly forgotten now, but America's famous self-confidence was badly battered when John F. Kennedy ran for the presidency in 1960.

The Cold War seemed to be going badly and the Soviet Union appeared to be winning the space race: Sputnik was in the sky beeping its signals.

At his inaugural in January 1961, JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Lofty words that, like FDR's, have drifted down through the years and set a standard that Obama will have to strive for.

The medium and the message

Kennedy did not serve long, but his goals continued for many years, carried on by youthful Americans responding to his call.

Both Roosevelt and Kennedy were also presidents who seized and exploited new technology to their great advantage.

In Roosevelt's case, it was radio.

Politicians of his day shunned radio. It was, they believed, a toy of entertainment.

FDR saw it differently. His fireside chats created a bond between him and his supporters that served him well as he struggled with the economic woes of the country and during the war years.

In Kennedy's case, he ate up the television screen. He knew it, he wasn't afraid of the medium, his press conferences were eagerly watched by a nation captivated by his youthful looks and easy manner.

With Obama, the medium of the moment is the internet, which he has come to master like few of his political contemporaries.

The web was crucial to Obama's electoral victory in raising money and getting his message out. It was how he recruited, energized and turned on his supporters.

That web use will only grow as he moves into the White House. One of his sites, Change.gov, releases all his press information at the same time as it goes out to the established media.

The site also encourages supporters to join email groups that keep them informed of Obama's schedule, activities and policy development.

His advisers consider a hit on Facebook much more important than a news story in the New York Times.

After the ball is over

Let me give you an example of how this is playing.

The establishment press still gives weight and much coverage to the inaugural balls that are held in Washington on the evening of Jan. 20. Expensive. Elitist. Left to lobbyists and the like who believe to see or be seen is all important.

Truth be told, an insider in Barack Obama's Washington is someone who doesn't need to go to a ball. All she needs is a BlackBerry.

In the words of Letitia Baldrige, who served as Jackie Kennedy's social secretary, "the music will be great, but you won't be able to hear it over the people asking why they paid so much for this and why there aren't more bathrooms."

Will she go this year? Unlikely. "I've been through the physical punishment of it already."

Obama and his wife, Michelle, will attend at least 10 of these balls, engage in one dance at each and sail away to the next.

Their biggest events are the ones they have been plugging on the internet and have attracted the biggest attention.

Beyonce and husband, rap mogul Jay-Z. Let the party begin. (Associated Press)

On Sunday, at the Lincoln monument, Obama (President-elect Cool Dude, if you like) will open what could be the biggest free concert ever to be staged on the Washington Mall.

Hundreds of thousands will be there, despite predicted cold temperatures.

The event is being covered by every television network and stars such performers as Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and Bono, among a host of others.

It's being streamed on the internet. If you have an electrical outlet anywhere in the world, you're there.

The world is his audience

This event was ordered up by Obama's folks. They insisted it be free and available to any media outlet that wanted it, including all internet sites.

They reason that their guy is the only politician in Washington who thrives in this setting. His opening remarks there might well set a record for the largest audience ever for a politician.

If so, it's a record that will almost certainly be broken on Tuesday by his swearing-in and inaugural address.

Internet coverage makes it certain that Obama will be seen and heard by more people around the world, in all of its little corners, than any of his predecessors might have imagined.

Mobile telephone companies are worried that, because so many people will be on the Mall, equipped with telephone cameras to record the event and send it instantly back home, that the total usage might cause the networks to crash.

Such an audience, of course, does not guarantee a successful presidency.

But as radio and television gave FDR and JFK contact with people that made leadership easier, so might Obama's mastery and comfort with the internet do the same for him.

It is in everyone's interest that it does.