President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012: What a

difference four years as America's leader can make.

Barack Obama: 'Handsome and Young to Hoary and Old' (Xinhua, People's Republic of China)

Is there any hope that President Barack Obama will regain the youthfulness he has lost after four years in the the Oval Office? This editorial from China's state-run Xinhua examines the causes of Obama's rapid aging, and predicts that he will never recover from the wear and tear encountered at the White House.

EDITORIAL

January 23, 2012

People's Republic of China - Xinhua - Original Article (English)

BEIJING: Four years ago, a personable middle-aged man named Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African-American president of the United States, and with an ambitious motto: "Yes, we can."

But when Obama was sworn in for a second term on Monday, a man with bags under his eyes, black spots and white hair stepped onto the stage.

Over the past four years, Americans have witnessed all of Obama's ups and downs, which have obviously catalyzed his aging.

When Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, who was wanted by Washington as the "prime suspect" behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the seriousness of his demeanor barely hid his inner joy.

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He was angered by the ideas of the Republicans for averting the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that would have begun taking effect on Jan. 1.

Then tears rolled down his cheeks several times when a mass shooting at a school in Connecticut killed at least 28 people, including 20 children.

Moreover, for his insistence on keeping taxes from rising on the middle class, raising taxes on the wealthy and launching Obamacare, the U.S. president has suffered much scorn over the years.

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Apparently, the sad moments overshadowed the happy ones in Obama's first term, since the number of things he cannot do is far greater than those he can. Even his own doctor admitted that Obama looks eight years older than he did four years ago.

Whether the next four years will be easier remains a mystery, but one thing is for sure: constantly up to his neck in problems at home and abroad, he will never look any younger.