Arab media provided extensive coverage of the Obama inauguration but in some cases the event was preempted by, or given equal time, with the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the Arab economic summit in Kuwait.
The Gaza crisis was ever present in Tuesday's coverage of the 44th U.S. president's swearing in, with print and broadcast media reporting that Obama was being given some leeway until (cynics would say) the next round of fighting.
Arab media have been riveted by Obama's meteoric rise to power and prominence. His background and skin color were the initial obvious attractions. The media followed the presidential campaign closely and mobilized phalanxes of reporters, photographers and camera crews to cover the momentous occasion on Tuesday in Washington.
But analysts, while hoping for more balanced and palatable policies than those rammed down everyone's throats by the Bush administration, are under no illusions there will be earth shattering changes concerning the Middle East, which was reflected in the media's coverage.
Pundits said they wanted to see how Obama would deal with the region's various problems but countless interviewees, including persons on the street in Arab capitals, said Obama wouldn't survive if he ran afoul of the powerful Jewish lobby in the United States.
Although Obama said he was all about change, the Arab media were taking his statement with a large grain of salt.
Several satellite channels like Al Arabiya ran split screen footage of the inauguration alongside coverage of the Arab summit.
The Arab media paid particular attention to conciliation gestures between Arab leaders who'd been at odds ends in recent months, most notably Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Lebanon's LBCI terrestrial channel covered the inauguration and aired a report on its main evening newscast but didn't stay with the inaugural celebrations the way U.S. channels did, reverting instead to its usual Tuesday line-up of sitcoms and talk shows.
The all-news Al Jazeera covered the inauguration but was very focused on Gaza, the Israeli troop withdrawal and devastation left behind.
Issues like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are constants but Gaza and the aftermath of Israel's onslaught attracted the most attention, notably with the visit of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to the war-ravaged strip.
While coverage in the U.S. was enthusiastic and optimistic, the Arab media's tone was guardedly optimistic, or bordering on sober, because of the U.S.' track record regarding Israel and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to name a few sore points in the region.
Like media worldwide, Arab news organizations featured stories about the Obamas as a family and as individuals; Michelle Obama's clothes; the balls and celebration parties all over Washington, D.C. and across the U.S.; the large crowds on the Washington Mall; the freezing weather; and, the fact that Obama unabashedly was sworn in using his father's name, Hussein, as a middle name.
The Arab world thrives on symbolism, so the symbolism of Barack Obama's inauguration didn't escape Arab media and audiences.
Print media reflected much the same as their broadcast counterparts. The pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat headlined with "Obama is America's 44th president" and quoted him as saying Americans had chosen hope over fear.
The paper published a cartoon of Obama staring into a painting that's an image of the United States, with the world looking on. It's a confused and ugly image. Asharq Al-Awsat gave equal play to the Arab economic summit.
Asharq Al-Awsat
So did another pan-Arab paper, Al Hayat, that also quoted extensively from Obama's inaugural speech on its front page, focusing on his pledge to withdraw from Iraq in a responsible fashion.
Al Hayat's cartoon, however, represented a Palestinian child from Gaza holding up a sign that says "hudna," or truce. The equivalent "hudna" sign on the Israeli side stands in front of heavy artillery, to indicate an uneven battle.
Al Hayat
Egypt's Al Ahram headlined with "America turns the Bush page and welcomes the first president of African origin."
Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper featured Obama taking the oath and quoted him as saying the world had changed and so must the United States.
One of its cartoonists showed Obama about to climb into the driver's seat of a world smoking from the fires left behind by the Bush administration, with a caption reading: "Obama's inauguration."
An-Nahar