It's not every day Ms. puts a man on the cover.

But in choosing the cover for our special Inaugural issue, Ms. wanted to capture both the national and feminist mood of high expectations and hope as the 44th President of the United States takes the oath of office.

Expectations have only grown since the election, with President-Elect Obama now enjoying over 80 percent of the public's support. Most people wish him well, and indeed hope he can "save" us from economic disasters, unending war and occupation, global warming, the decline in our international reputation and relentless attacks on women's rights, civil rights, human rights, science, privacy...the list goes on.

When the chair of the Feminist Majority Foundation board, Peg Yorkin, and I met Barack Obama, he immediately offered "I am a feminist." Better yet, he ran on the strongest platform for women's rights of any major party in American history. Feminist Karen Kornbluh, the platform's principle author, ensured women's rights, opportunities, advancement, and issues were addressed throughout the historic document.

But we are not giving President-Elect Obama a blank check. For our hopes to be achieved, we must speak out and organize, organize, organize to enable our new president's team to achieve our common goals. Ultimately, we must hold our leaders' feet to the fire or, to put it more positively, uplift our leaders when they are caught in the crosscurrents of competing interests.

In this spirit, the editors of Ms. magazine asked our readers, feminist leaders, experts, and activists to share their visions of what must be done to move forward at this extraordinary time. Not surprisingly, a number of them put women's health and reproductive rights at the top of the list.

--"You only had to see ‘women's health' reduced to air quotes by John McCain in the presidential debate to understand just how bad it's gotten," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "We're ready to get down to what women need: affordable, quality health care and the unalienable right to make our own decisions about childbearing."

--Sex-education activist Shelby Knox suggested that Obama's first budget should eliminate the nearly $200 million a year going toward failed abstinence-only-until marriage programs, and "return to funding evidence-based programs that will foster a generation of sexually healthy and happy adults."

--Jane Roberts, cofounder of 34 Million Friends of the U.N.  Population Fund, offered an expanded definition for violence against women, once that includes maternal mortality and lack of access to family planning and safe abortion: "Surely no woman can plan her life if she is going to die in childbirth or from unsafe abortion. Surely this is violence at personhood just as are beatings, rape or honor killings."

--And on a darkly humorous note, actor Kathy Najimy suggested we "shut down all the anti-choice centers posing as pregnancy clinics and turn them into Dunkin' Donuts."

In the current issue of Ms., read more visions for change-and then add yours. Now is our time to think big. We cannot settle for less-too many women's lives, too many people's lives, depend upon it.