"The 2008 presidential election has broken so many political barriers that historians may overlook one unusual fact: When Barack Obama takes the oath of office next January alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will be the first time in history that the president, vice president, and both of their spouses have worked in higher education," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "No one knows how the academic experiences of the executive-branch principals will shape the next administration. But that has not stopped presidential historians and higher-education officials from speculating about how a professor in chief might govern. On matters of both style and substance, they say, Mr. Obama comes across as professorial, a trait that could help or hurt him. Although his prepared speeches can soar with lofty prose, he can also turn deliberative when deviating from his script."