It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

Two years ago, the stock market was humming along, there was no credit crisis and the most important issue on voters’ minds was the war in Iraq.

Last summer, gas skyrocketed to more than $4 a gallon in many parts of the country. The stock market began to plummet, and trillions of dollars in retirement savings were wiped out. An unpopular president became even more unpopular as the economy continued to deteriorate.

Many political analysts question whether Sen. Barack Obama would have been able to become President-elect Obama if it weren’t for this perfect storm.

Recently, the price of gas has dropped rapidly to below $2 a gallon here in Fort Worth – an issue that was once a pressing concern is now much less of one.

Now that Obama has been elected, what will his first priorities be in an ever-changing world? Will he still focus first on energy policy like he has said he would do, or now that gas prices are temporarily much lower, will he instead tackle creating a national health insurance company first?

Obama has promised much, and I think the advisers he surrounds himself with will be key in how the next four years will play out. It will be important for him to reach across the aisle and choose some Republicans too. If Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress go too far to the left, they will begin to alienate the independents who helped them win last week, and they will lose seats in the next election if that happens.

President-elect Obama has inherited a huge mess, and it’s going to take some time to clean up. Our nation and the world have very high expectations of him, and only time will tell if he is successful.

No president can please everybody, but I think his statement in his victory speech about listening to everyone’s point of view will be incredibly important in rebuilding our nation.

Matthew Rosson is a sophomore prebusiness major from Lincoln, Neb.