Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Monday, April 27, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST ONE HUNDRED DAYS-






Washington — So far, the model for President Barack Obama is less FDR and more Ronald Reagan, in a liberal incarnation.

From his ambitious effort to reverse the direction of government to the abrupt shift in style and tone from his widely unpopular predecessor, Obama in his first 100 days has laid the groundwork for a new Democratic era.


He has signed the most expensive single piece of legislation in American history with the nearly $800 billion fiscal stimulus that reshapes the role of government in energy, education, health care, infrastructure and science.


He has ordered troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan. He has sought to forge a new American image on three foreign trips, including major summits in Europe and Latin America. He has reversed limits on stem cell research, ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and released secret legal memos on terror interrogations.


He has set in motion a monumental change in environmental policy with the Environmental Protection Agency finding that global warming is a threat to public health.
He has presented a budget that would raise taxes on the wealthy and slash major weapons programs.


Republicans marvel at his poll numbers. The polling also, according to Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, bears a striking resemblance to former President Reagan’s: Obama enjoys huge personal approval, even among many Republicans, with 73 percent of those polled saying they view him favorably. At the same time, many express skepticism about his policies, especially on deficit spending.


Polls also show that party polarization is more intense than ever, but Obama has demography on his side, said John Kenneth White, a professor of politics at Catholic University.


“The old Reagan majority, which was white, middle-class, suburban and married with kids at home, now gets you 46 percent of the electorate, which is what McCain got,” White said.
Facing an economic downturn early in his first term, Reagan didn’t panic, White said. “People sensed there was a crisis, and they were willing to give him time. So while he took a beating in 1982, they weren’t willing to give up on him or Reaganomics, and I think the public is more willing to accord Obama time than a lot of people think.”






WASHINGTON – As America’s first African-American president prepares to mark his 100th day in office on Wednesday, spin doctors from around the globe already have begun weighing in.President Barack Obama’s initial accomplishments have covered a lot of territory:

Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20 with the world watching the inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president. (Photo by Worsom Robinson/Real Times News Service)• Development of a plan to address the housing crisis and nation’s failing economy, amidst which he now sees “glimmers of hope”;


• The reversal of a string of executive orders by the Bush Administration viewed as anti-union;


• The establishment of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force;


• An executive order providing for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay lockup for terrorism suspects within a year;• His tour of Europe with First Lady Michelle Obama, which generated good will for America abroad during the G-20 economic conference;


• His trip to Mexico for discussions regarding the violent drug cartels and immigration issues.


• His efforts to improve the relationship with Cuba, supported by the Congressional Black Caucus.


• A new commitment to pour millions of dollars into the prevention and awareness of HIV/AIDS in America.


But, specifically, how is the new president doing on issues pertaining to civil rights? Though many leaders caution that 100 days is a very short time period, those interviewed gave him an “A” so far; however, most awarded him ‘incompletes‘ on the grassroots economy.


“There are some A’s and a couple of incompletes,” says the Rev. Jesse Jackson in a phone interview from Thailand. “I think the position against torture, an A; the G-20 conference, putting a credible face on America’s foreign policy where he has trust capital and Bush had trust deficit disorder.”Jackson also listed Obama’s reaching out to Cuba, Venezuela and the overture toward Iran as all A’s along with his dealing with the student loan industry, which Jackson described as a “$95 billion a year rip off.”


But, the incompletes – mainly in the area of economics - are clear, he says.“There’s an incomplete on the stimulus because it must be more targeted to get to the bottom. As the states get it, they’re using the term shovel ready. But, shovel-ready for those who don’t have a shovel because of the lack of capital and lack of credit means they may not be ready. That could be seen as boot straps without the boots.



“We have to be certain that it gets down to the most unemployed the most in need of training, the most in need of business development. That’s an ongoing struggle there.”With the Black unemployment surging above an average of 14 percent, National Urban League President Marc Morial agrees.On a scale of 1-10, Morial said the President scores a 9 for his first 100 days.

16 comments:

Beth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaw Kenawe said...

Dear Beth,

Either comment on why you believe Mr. Obama's first one hundred days have NOT been successful, or try to refrain from your impulse to act like a petulant child.

You do your side no favors with your knee-jerk, anti-Obama crap bombs that you feel compelled to throw on any comment that is favorable to him.

It makes you look dumb.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Hahahaha!

Beth is a curious person.

Several times here, and on other people's blogs, she posts inane comments, I, or others, comment on their irrelevance to the subject or their childishness.

She then comes back and deletes her original comment.

This must be some weird, abnormal blog obsessive/compulsive behavior.

Harmless, yes. Eccentric? For sure!

ProLife said...

According to the Left, weird, abnormal blog obsessive and compulsive behavior disorder is limited to Conservative bloggers. This is NOT so...I have found that it’s the liberals who are the close/narrow minded.

Shaw Kenawe said...

ProLife,

I was talking about Beth, and only Beth because she comments and then deletes her comments.

My comment was ONLY about Beth's behavior.

You appear to have trouble with reading comprehension.

Shaw Kenawe said...

ProLife,

I just clicked on your name, and this is where the link took me:

Blog has been removed
Sorry, the blog at prolife10101.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.

Did you expect to see your blog here? See: 'I can't find my blog on the Web, where is it?
'

Are you in any way related to Beth?

dmarks said...

He has backtracked on some good promises (ethical administation vs nominating tax crooks, telling it like it is about the Armenian genocide vs now mincing words, promising no earmarks while signing 9,000 of them)..... good promises that he quickly broke with little pressure.

You can't nail me for criticizing Obama for not doing what conservatives wanted: these were the President's own promises: things he wanted. For example, I won't ding him in this for his abortion policy: since those are promises he made and is keeping.

I saw a list comparing to other presidents, and his list of broken promises compared to promises kept isn't bad at all.

Shaw: About Beth, doesn't everyone like self-deleting trolls?

Anonymous said...

You are just like all the rest of the leftist bloggers who seem to only want to disparage anyone with a difference of opinion. Your newest blogs are nothing less than disgusting name calling trash..
Obama's first one hundred days have NOT been successful!!
..It is unbelievable to me that an American President would entertain a dictator who is literally raping and pillaging his own country, taking all privatized capitalism out of the hands of his people and putting it under the control of the government. I think any one who doesn't thinks he is a dictator with communism running through his veins should get his head checked. Obama is a socialist, an embarrassment to America.
Take your racist trash of a blog and go slink away. It makes you look dumb.

Dave Miller said...

Nice work anonymous. When Nixon sat down with the leaders of China, was that just as despicable?

How about when President Ford sat down with the leaders of Communist Russia? Was that just as despicable?

How about when Pres. Reagan negotiated with terrorists during Iran/Contra, was that too despicable?

What specifically has President Obama done that has taken private property out of your personal hands?

He may be guilty of wealth distribution, but so were Reagan and both shrubs, er... Bushes.

It is just that he proposes giving more money to poorer folks as opposed to giving more money to the richer folks in society.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Anonymous,

I challenge you to find any name-calling in my last six posts.

You won't be able to, since there isn't any.

You sound like our friend, Beth, who runs off at the mouth [in this case, keyboard, backs none of her allegations up, and makes baseless accusations.

I disparage no one in my recent posts [although I do admit to attacking Rush Limbaugh--who, IMHO, deserves my contempt and then some.]

Recent polling shows that, for the first time in 5 years, the American people see this country going in the right direction, and that Mr. Obama is very, very popular with his fellow citizens.

Your silly hissy fit over President Obama shaking Chavez's hand only shows how pathetically uninformed and naive you are about US foreign policy.

Comments don't get any sillier or more childish than this:

Take your racist trash of a blog and go slink away. It makes you look dumb.Thanks for the laughs.

dmarks said...

"It is just that he proposes giving more money to poorer folks as opposed to giving more money to the richer folks in society."

Too bad he has signed no-strings-attached bailouts (with massive bonuses) and a bill that included free health care for well-off adults (which is kind of fraudulent when done under the SCHIP name). He also wiped out an effective program that helped help poor children in DC get a better education (because an anti-education special interest group that gives him lots of $$$ wanted this done).

I wish he were a lot more consistent on helping the poor.

(These criticisms of him wasting money on welfare for the rich while cutting aid for the poor are hardly typical "conservative" criticisms).

Dave Miller said...

Give him time dmarks. I think at the end of his term(s), we will see that he has indeed been good for folks at the low end of our economic strata.

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

I would rather he keep my $8 a week tax cut to help pay for the programs that make our lives better and reduce our Nation's debt.
There. I proved a Liberal can disagree with President Obama sometimes.

dmarks said...

"reduce our Nation's debt."

Well, perhaps if he got rid of the middle-class tax cut, he would increase the national debt by as much as George W. Bush instead of twice as much.

Arthurstone said...

The first 100 hundred days of any administration is, in my view, more or less a media invention. And in this day of 24/7 headlines & 'analysis' the time period is arbitrary and I think exists to suit the tellers of stories not those of us who have elected a President and a party to govern.

There are hundreds of thousands of federal government employees and a few hundred elected ones who steer this colossal ship. Like an oil tanker it takes time to turn and time to stop.

It's a little like staying up until 3:00 AM on New Years. What difference do the first couple of hours make when one has 365 days to go?

Same with one hundred days in a new administration.

dmarks said...

Arthur: Thank you for cutting through the hype. I'd not thought of that.