The First 100 Days

Not surprisingly, there are real reporters out there covering the same thing that my blog covers. Is our new president keeping his campaign promises? How can we judge the first 100 days? Obama said Wednesday that he was "sobered by the fact that change comes slow in Washington" and that although he is now one seat shy of a filibuster-proof Senate with Arlen Spector's party swap, he wants to make it clear to Republicans that reaching out to them in the past was not a political ploy. If Al Franken's second recount goes his way and he wins (again) then well be seeing  60 percent majority of Democrats in the Senate, and even so, the president is still calling for politicians around the country to "stop the political games" until we can get America back on track. Surprisingly, in this most recent conference, Obama answered questions pertaining to national security more so than the general welfare of our economy. A recent spike in violent activity in Iraq prompted reporters to question how much time Obama was spending on fullfilling his promises to withdrawl overseas. Obama assured reporters that although there has been a recent spike in violence, it is nowhere near where we were last year and that the political structure seems to be sustaining itself to some extent. Obama's conference came just hours after both chamber of Congress passed a $3.4 trillion budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year.

The next article that I found was entitled "Obama: Candidate vs President" an article which I hoped to be more in-depth than the last one about our president keeping his campaign promises. More than two years after Obama questioned the legitimacy of past presidents, and their ability to keep their word, we are doing the same of him. Presidential historian Doug Brinkley says of Obama, "What Obama has successfully done is keep his persona intact, which is a man of deep family values and a core moral center. And I think that people are learning to trust Obama that when he talks, he's not just articulate, but he's shooting straight." As Obama has grown into his presidential shoes as it were, he has changed his message of hope and change to a message of patience, change doesn't come over night especially in America. No one can accuse Obama of not trying to do enough in his first 100 days in office, he seems to be taking on every challenge that our country has to offer, as if he only has 100 days to be president. Yet, the American people have not seen any real change. Its hard to regard the groundwork that he has laid as actual progress but in a political system like ours you need to take what you can get, he has four years to change the country and right now the economy is barely limping back to life and he has more problems than he knows what to do with. Republicans are hoping to see him make more of an effort to reach accross the aisle and fullfill his campaign ideals of a more centrist white house, but many politicians are becoming disheartened with his presidency because he seems to be ignoring those promises. 

Well the polls are in, and as it stands right now 6 out of 10 Americans are giving President Obama the thumbs up, contrary to what Fox News may have you believe. His approval rating has steadily hovered around 63-64% throughout his presidency, but political analysts are comparing him to Johnson and Carter, saying he may drop to 40% or so if the American people don't start seeing tangible campaign promises being kept. The first 100 days polls fall when the American people are still evaluating the job our president is doing, so what Obama really has to worry about is the polls after his first year. Clinton had great approval ratings in his first 100 days but after june of 1993 his ratings tanked. Political analysts are saying that Obama should not be counting his chickens yet because these polls are not representative of him being "out of the woods" as far as approval ratings are concerned, but its still nice to know 6 out of 10 people think you're doing a great job.

One step closer to Cuban cigars

The first article that jumped out at me when I logged online was Obama's new plan to build a giant network of high-speed electric trains. Obama hopes that this will cut our dependency on foreign oil and improve the environment at the same time. He hopes to set up these trains in heavily congested areas, especially highlighting the Northeast Corridor which runs from Washington to Boston. I think this is a really big deal for his administration to come forward with this plan. It has been a long time since any president has proposed a complete overhaul of our transportation system rather than just trying to modify an outdated mode of travel. The auto industry is tanking and our government does not have the money to continue to bail them out. Our president promised us during the election that he would make an effort to clean up the environment and make our country more accountable for the amount of waste and smog that we produce. What better way to fulfill that promise than to create a brand new system of transportation that eliminates one of our most waste producing activities? I think if anyone questions Obama's commitment to standing behind his word then this should show them how much he really is committed to change.

I also noticed an article the other day in USA Today that was really interesting. It talked about Obama opening up the borders of Cuba, not lifting the trade embargo, but just making travel there much more possible for Cuban Americans. This has prompted a rush of people back to Cuba to visit friends and family that they couldn't before. Old laws allowed Cuban Americans to only visit Cuba once every three years and only send below $1300 back home every year. Limitations such as this are unnecessary and Obama made the conscious decision to make changes rather than letting old laws sit in the books and make life difficult for our largest and most recent group of immigrants. Interestingly enough this story hasn't really been making headline news, for what reason, I don't know, because it seems to me if I were someone looking to expand a business of some sort, I might build a hotel in Cuba or begin talking to leaders and figuring out trade agreements for when the embargo finally drops.

Jumping off of this point, Obama made a trip into Latin America that he said was to make everyone feel that we are all on an equal level. Obama said of Brazil that we are both big countries that are struggling with much of the same problems so it makes sense to be partners. There are no senior or junior partners in this relationship, only leaders looking to improve their country and the world. This attitude stands in stark contrast to the condescending, holier-than-thou image that the rest of the world has had of the United States for, oh, lets just say...the last 8 YEARS. The President has also said that he is working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on shaping a comprehensive immigration reform. Not only is he going to Trinidad and Tobago to meet with leaders about improving our relationship with Latin America, but he refused to comment on leaders in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela who have recently been modifying their constitution in order to increase their holds on power.

Change That We Can See

In my last post I talked about Obama being able to fulfill his promises, and I made a reference to political analysts who said he was making changes but nothing that the American people could see. I agree that the theatrics of our political system is just as important as making actual progress at fixing its decaying infrastructure, but I think half of the problem with people who "can't see" the changes Obama is making is that they aren't looking hard enough. One example of this is Obama's brand new appointee as leader of FEMA. We all remember how FEMA dropped the ball during Katrina, and rather than letting it happen again Obama has elected the head of disaster response in Florida Craig Fugate, who has coordinated successful responses to 11 disasters during his time in Florida. Experts on both ends of the political spectrum are saying that Fugate is more than qualified for the job and is ready to overhaul the entire organization and create more efficient and timely response to disasters. Fugate is used to spending time in the public eye after dealing with hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan, and Jeanne. Obama also recognized the significance of this appointment saying, "I'm confident that Craig is the right person for the job and will ensure that the failures of the past are never repeated."

Ok, so now our country is on its way to being protected against another natural disaster. Thats amazing progress, but we still have no money! Our debt is in the trillions and our economy is in the toilet, what in the world is Obama doing to fix that? Well, Obama signed a memorandum today that saves the federal government $40 billion a year. In the big picture, surprisingly enough $40 billion really isn't that much, but its a step in the right direction and if reforms like this continue we could maybe start to work our way out of debt. The $40 billion came from what Obama referred to as the "broken system of government contracting." On top of this, Obama said it was time for us to turn the tide on an era of fiscal irresponsibility so that we can sustain our recovery and not leave the next generation (aka: me) a mound of debt. I also made a reference to a budget that Obama was presenting last thursday, in which he outlined $2 trillion in deficit reduction. He said all the money that they're saving is due to reform in the way that government does business and also due to the help of a little gecko who knows a lot about car insurance. Government spending on contracts has doubled over the last 8 years (coincidence? i think not) to over half a trillion dollars, and Obama pointed to defense spending but still made it clear he wanted to keep the American people safe. "...But I reject false choice," said Obama, "between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. And in this time of great challenges, I recognize the real choice between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are designed to make a defense contractor rich." I think no matter who you voted for, its refreshing to hear any sort of politician speaking with that much honesty and accountability.

For the sake of blogging integrity though I must explore an article that does not necessarily line up with my beliefs. CNN's Jack Cafferty wrote an article insinuating that Obama was in fact at fault for our continuing economic turmoil. Ok, I read the article. I tried really hard to believe it, and to understand his point of view, but to me it didn't really add up. Cafferty said that Obama was "running out of people to blame" since the market has dropped 25% since he took office. I find that a little hard to swallow, seeing as this administration has inherited all of the problems of the Bush administration and has not only hit the ground running in an attempt to save our sinking ship but at the same time has had to deal with all the responsibilities that come along with being a newly appointed president. Cafferty went on to accuse Obama of slowing, if not stopping, what would normally have been a normal economic slump and recovery by being hard on big business and "squandering resources." Excuse me? I find it hard to believe that banks go belly-up in a normal economic cycle, and that shady deals in big business prior to this had nothing to do with the economy falling apart. I also find it hard to believe that Obama is "squandering" anything as he has been recovering the losses of the previous administration from day 1. If the republicans had their way, Obama would be blamed for the economic mess, widespread unemployment, the housing crisis, and for being the one who told Chris Brown to beat Rihanna. The economic crisis didn't happen in a month and it won't get fixed in one either, squabbling over who is to blame is a trend that I hope this country leaves behind during this administration. Who or what caused it is not the problem, Obama is working to fix it and that is all that matters

Will Obama Be Able To Meet His Goals?

Immediately upon arriving at cnn.com I saw an article entitled "Will Obama Be Able to Meet His Goals?" Its an interesting question because although I am a big supporter of Obama, I wonder sometimes how realistic it is to think that he can pull us out of the hole that the Bush Administration dug for our country. Its undeniable that Obama has inspired the American people on a level that we haven't seen since JFK, but making massive overhauls of the government internally is a completely different story. Some promises are easier to keep than others, but is it really realistic to believe that he can turn around the economy by the end of his first year? I like to think so, but that doesn't necessarily make it true and even if he plays his cards right 100% of the time he is in office and creates the most effective stimulus bill possible, his goals could still be out of reach. From what I learned in intro econ, generally economies go in cycles that take time to improve. Although the dollar is weak right now, that just means its going to be circulated less globally and the less people that have it means its going to be worth more so its value will go up. But the point is that this process takes time and it might stretch into year #2 of Obama's term or even into the next term altogether. The general consensus of analysts in the article was that Obama is taking all the right steps to fix the economy but the American people need to see proof of it. He just passed a massive stimulus bill and has a housing and banking reform bill in the works, so I think it wont be long before we start to see Obama fulfilling his promises.

Speaking of bills being passed, there was another little article talking about the house passing a $410 billion spending bill for the rest of 2009. It was pretty much passed down the party line, with most Democrats in full support and most Republicans opposing it. House GOP leaders criticized the bill saying its spending increases are too large. They also criticized the addition of several BILLION dollars in earmarks attached to the bill in order to support pet projects of certain lawmakers. Democrats defended the bill saying that it was necessary to help our country in this struggling economy. President Obama plans on revealing his 2010 budget plans on Thursday.

Finally I looked at an article talking about Obama's address to Congress last night which I regrettably missed but this piece summarized it pretty well. What was really interesting about the article was that they compared it to "Morning in America" which is what Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign was called. The article said Obama struck "a defiantly optimistic tone that belied the nation's sour mood and rebutted critics who have accused him of intentionally talking down the economy for short-term political gain." With a depressing economic backdrop accompanied by an overwhelming majority of Americans under the impression that the country is going in the wrong direction, Obama's first address to Congress was a "tour de force," promising to completely overhaul the economy right down to the foundation. He ripped apart his conservative predecessors for their wasteful s long term  pending and for giving "wealth to the wealthy" by making a quick dollar in exchange for thedestruction of our countries economic infastructure. Obama did all of this while using Reagan's rhetoric tools of promoting change while enforcing inborn American ideals like hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Overall from what I can tell it was a successful speech and really cleared the air as far as his opposition is concerned.

An Obama Epiphany

So from what I can tell so far, this blog is basically just following Obama's first couple of months in office. Whether it be his economic stimulus package or any other one of the thousands of articles praising and attacking our new president, I decided that the general theme for this blog will be Barack Obama. 

That being said, the first article that caught my eye was one that said "Obama Facing Help Wanted Dilema" which puzzled me because I thought everyone was out of a job and, like I said in my last post, all Obama is really trying to do is create jobs. Yet, upon reading the article I found out that the title was actually in reference to his administration. Apparently President Obama hit the ground running, naming politicians to his cabinet at a record pace which has no slowed to a crawl. Michael Feldman, a white house official during the Clinton administration said, "To some extent they're trying to build a plane and fly it at the same time. So there's no analog for what this administration is going through." A fitting metaphor for a country thats trying to keep its head above water and completely overhaul a stagnant system at the same time. The number of appointees is astonishingly low for what has been called an extremely expedited process, but nevertheless it is still slowing down because of what the article called "the political media complex" scrutinizing every decision that gets made and overanalyzing the thought process behind it. President Obama has set an extremely high bar and is now seeing the consequences of attempting to meet that goal, but from what I can see hes been doing a great job so far.

Another article that jumped out was one that pertained to Obama's role in Afghanistan. Obama will be sending 17,000 troops in to help quell the insurgencies that have been increasing of late, but on top of this he hopes to reach out to allies such as Canada for aide in this conflict. I think the most uplifting part of the article was when the president recognized that solving the conflict in Afghanistan was impossible through purely military means, a mistake our government has made in every involvement we have ever had in the Middle East. Obama said that diplomacy and development were crucial to solving our problems there and without these aspects we would find ourselves unable to extract from Afghanistan. CNN Security Analysis Peter Bergman thinks its unlikely that we will be able to find any NATO countries willing to lend us a hand in Afghanistan. He said that we have tried in the past and no one seems to be interested, but with Barack Obama meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada on Thursday I think it is becoming more and more plausible that we will find countries willing to offer aide. After watching a link to an interview with a Taliban General I think that it is unlikely peace will slowly begin to happen, but diplomatic negotiations with the United States standing in a position of power and supremacy may yield a favorable outcome.

The last article that I found links back into my first blog post. The article is all about a new website made by Obama's administration that lets you track your tax dollars at work in the new stimulus bill, another stride in a very open administration. The website, called recovery.gov allows visitors to track efforts to jump-start the economy. It breaks down the $787 billion by category and promises a more detailed explanation once they figure out how the rest of the money will be allocated. Graphs, charts, and easy to understand explanations are all over the website and really express how hard Obama's administration is trying to reach the American people and keep what they do "transparent and accountable." I personally think that this will help to stop any skepticism as to whether the bill will work or not or whether our money is going to the right place. After seeing that controversial cartoon in the NY Times about Obama's stimulus package it was a relief to see that there was no backlash and the administration just continued to do what they were doing and provide the American people with a window into the theatrics of this stimulus package. 

The Job Squad

What really surprised me was that when I went onto CNN to search for articles about the economy, there were a lot less than I had expected. As I was sifting through all of the horror stories about teen drinking and fluffy human interest pieces, I began to wonder if the news was aware that we are involved in two wars and at the same time trying to breathe life into a slowly dieing economy. 

All of that aside, I did find find a recent article about the progress being made with the economic stimulus package. Democratic leaders are saying that they worked out a key dispute between the house and the senate about school construction spending, an issue which threatened to derail the bill earlier in its conception. I think what is so key about this article is realizing that its basically impossible to pass a bill of this magnitude because everyone is extremely opinionated about every single detail. Essentially it was a battle between whether the money was better spent making new schools or trying to modernize and fix ones that already exist. Out of 219 Republicans in Congress, only three originally backed the bill, so it was quite a struggle to finally pass it.

Another article I found gave me some information about the timetable for passing the economic stimulus bill. Apparently the house plans to vote on the bill on friday, which would meet with president Obamas expectations that the bill be on his desk by presidents day on monday. This article actually had references to my previously mentioned article which came out a day before it, but it assured readers that the bill was not in jeopardy. This article said that the compromise actually provided an extra $10 billion to the $44 billion already allocated toward school construction and rehabilitation. These extra funds will be allocated through Title 1 which distributes the money based on need. The article also made it clear that every aspect of the bill was catered to the creation of new jobs, and Senator Ben Nelson is quoted as saying "Today you might call us the 'job squad'." Nelson was a key negotiator in the creation of the bill and mediated much of the discussion about school construction.

On another note, I read an article talking about the effects of our recession and not so much the process by which we are attempting to fix it. Banks led a stock selloff as investors questioned the reliability and efficiancy of the governments bailouts and stimulus package. Stocks slumped as people mulled over reports on housing sales, and their hesitation to invest was not unfounded with unemployment remaining at a 26-year high. Stocks actually rose on wednesday after there were reports about the stimulus package being close to done, but the unreliability and stagnation of the US political system prevailed and kept investors holding onto their money thursday.