 "Photo: Peter Harris")
Last Wednesday was Barack Obama’s 100th day in office, an occasion downplayed by the White House but widely covered by news outlets.
Most of the president’s initiatives so far have departed from Bush era approaches. In line with campaign promises, Obama has aggressively promoted a renewed image of the United States internationally, spending 12 of the first 100 days abroad, three times that of his predecessor.
He has indicated openness to direct diplomacy with Iran, and has swiftly ended practices such as harsh interrogation techniques and the deportation of terrorism prisoners to secret CIA camps which were widely criticized by other countries and the United Nations. In a widely-publicized speech in Turkey, Obama clearly stated “the United States is not at war with Islam,” countering the perception that Bush’s war on terrorism was a war on Muslim culture.
In accordance with campaign promises, many other Bush policies have also seen speedy change under the new administration. Oil drilling leases in Utah were cancelled, certain mercury emissions regulations were reinstated and carbon dioxide was classified as a public health threat. The White House issued a proposal for the federal government to directly loan money to students, eliminating the roles of banks and lending institutions. Lastly, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program passed without a veto, expanding health coverage to 4 million children over the next 10 years.
Although Obama has voiced clear support for increased financial regulation, no major financial regulation reform has come out of Washington so far. But, as former Bush treasury secretary Henry Paulson stated, it will take years to overhaul the massive financial regulatory structure.
As an additional response to the financial downturn, one of Obama’s largest goals and now successes was passing the $787 billion stimulus package. Most of Obama’s benchmarks for the bill were included in the final version, including tax credits promoted as “Making Work Pay,” and funding for many policy initiatives such as education, environmental regulation and healthcare research and standardization. The stimulus bill’s party-line vote, however, represented a setback for Obama’s efforts to increase bipartisan governance
Indeed, bipartisanship has not grown as Obama had hoped it would. For example, Republicans voiced disapproval of the spending measures pushed through Congress in the last four months. “I think the Democrats’ first 100 days running Washington can be summed up in three words: spending, taxing, and borrowing,” Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kans., said during the Republican party’s weekly radio address.
“The plans they’ve passed in the first 100 days will add more to our nation’s public debt than all previous Presidents combined in 200 plus years,” Lynn said. But with a diminished filibuster threat due to Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party and the possibility of an Al Franken win in Minnesota, having support on both sides of the aisle may not be as critical to passing Obama’s initiatives as in years past.
Some media sources have provided numerical analyses of how true Obama has been to his goals. The “Obameter” at PolitiFact.com provides a measure of Obama’s conformity to the promises made during his campaign and first days in office. Out of 514 distinct promises, 28 have been labeled as kept, seven as compromised and six as broken. Sixty-three are currently in the works. PolitiFact also identified 25 of Obama’s main claims, three of which have been directly addressed. So far, the White House has created a foreclosure prevention fund and has increased troop levels in Afghanistan. The plan to end the “revolving door” for lobbyists employed by the executive branch, however, has not been strictly enforced.
Overall, Obama has been consistently active in the last 100 days, either directly addressing problems or issuing proposals for legislation. However, the scope of many issues like healthcare reform and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate multiple pieces of major legislation will be required. As PolitiFact pointed out, some of Obama’s goals have been partially addressed, but few have seen either success or failure due to their complexity.
Beginning with his election night speech, the president has repeatedly signaled that solving these problems will take more than one term. Given the political situation, the end of the 111th Congress in January 2011 will likely serve as a better indicator of Obama’s success.
Nicholas Coley ‘10 is from Juneau, Wis. He majors in sociology/anthropology.
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