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.