So here we are, 100 days into the Obama presidency, and every major news outlet is busy rating his performance.
I understand that it's a 24-hour news cycle and they have to fill the time with something, but what's magic about 100 days? Three months is a common probationary period in new jobs, but that's three months, not 100 days. Babies take nine months to gestate, a tomato plant takes just under three months to produce, and a presidential term is four years long. So why 100 days?
Like most Americans, I feel great goodwill toward our President; like most Americans, I'm pretty worried about the economy. My next door neighbor (currently out of work) said it this morning: "If Obama can't turn things around pretty soon, people are going to start to turn on him."
The President's power over the economy is pretty limited, unfortunately, and the current economic crisis has been building for years. But I'm still glad to see President Obama's face on television, and I still believe what he says, which is more than I can say about the last two presidents.
Five Random Songs
"Together in Electric Dreams," Nadeah. From Hollywood Mon Amour, a CD of covers of movie music -- this song, originally recorded by Phil Oakley of the Human League, was the theme of a 1984 film called Electric Dreams, a deeply quirky film about a man, a woman and a computer. I might need to put it on my Netflix queue, in fact...
"Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy," W:Ax. A cover of the "Ren & Stimpy" theme song, from a CD called Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits. "I don't think you're happy enough!"
"Come Back Home," Pete Yorn. I don't know why I don't play this CD (Day I Forgot) more often.
"International Pop Overthrow," Material Issue. I saw these guys live a few times, before the lead singer killed himself. What a waste; I loved this band.
"(What A) Wonderful World," Sam Cooke. Sam Cooke is like bacon; he improves everything.
9 comments:
It's 100 Days of No Accountability in this viral video, watch: http://tinyurl.com/deejcj
A president's power over the economy used to be pretty limited. Not any more. There's plenty of damage yet to be done and Obama is working as hard as he can to do it. Your unemployed neighbor better learn to rely on himself. Pronto.
I'd be very interested in hearing about or discussing any alternative plans from the loyal opposition -- that's their job, to come up with different solutions so that the system of checks and balances can work to reach a course that is acceptable to everyone.
The Republican party, as far as I can tell, has abandoned this in a way that dismays and disappoints me.
At one point in my life, I described myself as a "liberal Republican," meaning someone who believed in a combination of personal liberty and the judicious use of public spending on national investments: defense, infrastructure, and education.
But today's Republican party rejects the ideals of personal liberty in favor of restrictions on things like access to family planning, marriage between consenting adults, and the right of people from other countries to pursue the American dream. Any pretense of fiscal responsibility was abandoned in the second year of the GWB Administration, and the legislative minority has yet to offer a realistic alternative to any of the Obama administration's proposals.
They need to do this. That is their JOB, that is their responsibility to the American people. Instead we have Rush Limbaugh throwing childish insults and Sarah Palin batting her eyes for the camera.
If I were still a Republican, I'd be pissed as hell.
Current polling data trumpeted by the left is almost completely irrelevant- a lot of people still don't have any clue what Obama's doing to the country, with his naive diplomacy and reckless print-money spending.
But they'll come out-of-the-ether quick when we get humiliated overseas, the dollar tanks, inflation hits 10%, and/or a desperate Rezko/Blago sing to prosecutors about their former pal Barack... who's closet is surely chock-full o' bones.
Time is simply on the GOP's side: neither Obama's big-government spending nor his Carter-esque foreign policy based on appeasement have any precedent of success... anywhere.... ever. And the press can't just do stories on his puppy-vetting process and how he likes to play basketball for four years.
Obama hasn't been tested overseas, nor has he yet gotten to the hard part domestically: he's yet to raise taxes, nationalize healthcare, or provide mass amnesty for illegal immigrants. He hasn’t closed down the car companies he now runs and he has not yet forced a 30+ % jump in utility bills and myriad other products with his cap-and-trade stealth-tax schemes. And these are all on the Obama agenda.
Most likely, when all their ill-advised pork-n-welfare spending fails to produce real economic gains, the Democrats face a bloodbath in 2010-
And by 2012? People will wince at the very mention of the name Obama-
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/
And you have just proved my point AGAIN, using an absurd number of words to do so: where are your alternative proposals? What should the government be doing instead, if you're so sure that these efforts won't work?
Why are you wasting your time leaving comments on the blogs of people you don't know, instead of developing and promoting your own plans for fixing what's wrong with this country? And I ask again -- AGAIN -- WHAT ARE THOSE PLANS?
Your leaders spent the last eight years running this country into the ground. The current Administration has been in place for three months. That's math even I understand.
FDR took office in 1933 with a 100-Day plan. Got most of it through Congress, too.
Then there was Ceaser, who, after taking total control of Rome for the good and last time, declared 100 days of feasts and games.
Maybe Obama should have followed Ceaser's lead more than Roosevelt's.
I was also going to pin the blame on Roosevelt. I'm pretty sure he set the precedent; I can't find anything about 100 Days Plans/Check-ups/whatever before him.
Boy, Republicans are angry right now, huh? I would love to know what McCain/Palin would have done.
NPR Morning Edition has had good pieces on where the 100 days came from (Roosevelt) needing to keep the nation optimistic. I understand that the Obama administration doen't put much stock in it
RBo
On a happy note, when my kids were little and still living in Korea, they were each given a party when they turned 100 days old. It's tradition in other countries as well, I believe. They were celebrating the act of simply making it this far! Just like the Prez!
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