The First 100 Days

All the political talk shows are focused on Barack Obama’s first 100 days.  Everyone has an opinion about his performance as president.  Even the president himself has given an opinion about how he has done.  The 100 day thing is the equivalent of the usual 90 day probation that most people must survive to hold on to a new job.  The difference is America can’t discharge him even if he is doing a poor job.  Unless he has been found guilty of a crime, Barack Obama is our president for the next four years.

Recalling eight years ago to George W. Bush’s first 100 days I cannot remember that there was any considerable discussion about his performance.  CNN had a group of people that graded President Bush.  His grade was mostly around a B.  Of course no one knew that 9-11-01 would determine the course of his presidency.  That was an incident that occurred 234 days into the Bush presidency.  It was the September 11 event that impacted everything about President Bush’s presidency.

Like President Bush, President Obama is just another president impacted by unplanned events.   In the 20^th century Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson all saw their presidencies significantly impacted by events beyond their control.

The only thing we know about President Obama is that he is willing to take action that might affect the future.  He knows that the first 100 days is just the warm up.