Today is the day for everyone to make their initial assessment of Barack Obama as President of the United States, as it is Day 100.
Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt set the standard with the most active First Hundred Days ever accomplished, every President, and in fact every Governor and Mayor, has been put under judgment after 100 Days.
No one has ever matched FDR for activism in the First Hundred Days, and one cannot claim that Obama has surpassed Roosevelt. However, I believe that his performance will stand in history as the SECOND most active First Hundred Days in American History.
Sometimes, one can wonder whether the President ever sleeps. He and his wife have been a whirlwind of activity since January 20, and they have both certainly succeeded in raising the spirits of the nation. Both of them are very popular, and interest in the Obama children and even their dog is very high. It is obvious the American people, in any poll, want their President to succeed and wish him well, with only talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel wishing him ill.
The country has been very impressed with Obama in every way, including his press conferences, speeches, travels overseas, and promotion of his economic program on Capitol Hill. The Democrats have been very unified, and it is a shame that only three GOP senators (now two, with the switch of Arlen Specter) have the willingness to promote bipartisanship in a difficult economic time.
My judgment would be that I would rate Obama B on economic policy, with the understanding that it is premature to judge him on this, since we will have to wait to see if the plans indeed do work. I would rate him A- on foreign policy, with much of it being the impression of his foreign travels and his openness to new beginnings with Iran and Cuba and his desire to improve America’s image in the world, so heavily damaged by President Bush’s approach to foreign policy. I am pleased with most of his social initiatives, particularly on stem cell research and global warming, as he restores the role of science in public policy over the earlier religious influence prevalent under President Bush. Therefore, I would give him a B + in this area.Â
Again, much of the future is yet to come, so it is likely that this assessment may change dramatically for better or for worse based on performance and success. It is good to know, though, that Obama is putting maximum effort into his job, and at least, again, it is a time to be proud to be an American.
So averaging out these different areas of Obama’s First Hundred Days, my overall grade for President Obama is a solid B +!