Now that the primaries, the election, the transition and the inauguration are over with, the next political obsession will be the symbolically important first 100 days of a presidency. The first 100 days set the tone of a presidential term, when a newly minted president takes the reins of the country, has good will and political capital to use, and a Congress willing to make his life easy and ride his coattails.
If Obama's first day is any indication of what sort of president he will be for the next 4 years, his term will be marked by a blinding workpace, ambitious projects within and outside of Washington, and a refusal to adopt any particular ideology as truth incarnate. On January 21st, 2009, the first full day in office, Obama signed an executive order to stop impending cases in Guantanamo Bay and close the camp within a year, close all secret interrogation sites the CIA established around the globe, asked leading generals and commanders in Iraq to draft a plan to withdraw troops within 16 months, froze all White House salaries above $100k, and shortened the reach of lobbyists into members of the White House. Next up for Obama is to take a breath.
Being the academic that he is, Obama knows the importance his deeds between today and April 29th have on the rest of his term. A languid set of months will translate into an even steeper uphill battle for his administration. Members from both parties seem to lack any sort of animosity toward Obama, even if he is not of their party or their agenda. This is the sort of good will Obama will need to catapult him into a milieu of problems his administration inherited. Again, if Obama manages to gain momentum, his mettle will still be tested, but with more strength to answer back.
lhp
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