Obama's First 100 Days - Wrap Up

Obama's 100 day mark was somewhat overshadowed as the media went rabid over swine flu, but he still managed to get in a major primetime conference. For the past week or so commentary on Obama's first 100 days in office have been generally positive, he's still polling high nationwide, and he managed to get the sweetest anniversary gift ever - the 60 seat senate majority.

Perhaps most importantly, Americans seem to understand that Obama's got a lot on his plate. With so many problems looming (2 wars, a major economic depression, a financial crisis, a collapsing auto industry, major healthcare reform, finding energy alternatives, a global pandemic (!), and pirate attacks (wtf?)), Obama needs the public to continue to place their confidence in him and it looks like they are.

So what's in for Obama's next 100 days? Will he make enough progress to keep Americans' faith in him going? Will he still be polling high on Day 200? We'll be watching. We'll let you know..

What kind of shareholder will Obama be?

Obama's last question asks him now that he is the majority shareholder in two major housing companies, several banks, and probably 2 car companies, what does he think that his responsibility should be now that he has this responsibility.
Obama responds by saying he wants to get out, he doesn't want to run companies, he has enough to deal with running two wars but that the government was forced to intervene given the hand he was dealt and that not responding would've "decimated" the economy.
He stresses responsibility and prudence and once again says that "tough choices" are going to have to made for these companies and the troubled industries overall to recover. Jokes about his critics saying he wants to grow government and says if he had a choice he'd much rather deal with Iran and a pandemic flu then nationalizing banks and rescuing the auto industry.
Overall a very wide ranging news conference that caps Obama's 100 days well, Obama was in charge of the issues and kept a sober, slow pace.
The Washington Post will be miffed though, they still didn't get a question. Aw schucks.

Immigration and disproportianate unemployment for people of color

Immigration comes up and Obama says he hopes to convene a working group of hispanic legislators in conjunction with Homeland Security to start working on new immigration policy hopefully this year.
Obama has largely skirted the issue publicly, and doesn't necessarily offer any news here. But seeing as how Obama rarely confronts issues he doesn't feel he can win on, it may give hope to immigration reform proponents that they have the confidence of the new president, and may bode ill for those on the right that are also girding themselves for a fight.
Obama is then asked about how he is going to approach dealing with unemployment that has hit areas with high minorities moreso than it has more rural, white areas, Obama responds by saying that a return to prosperity would mean prosperity shared by all and stresses the importance of the recovery package to help get the country back on track and bring recovery to people of all colors and promises "bottom up" economic growth.

Surprised, troubled, enchanted, humbled

The New York Times finally get's a question (for those that have been following these press conferences, there were some conclusions drawn that major newspapers were being shut out of the process)
Jeff Zeleny asks what has surprised, troubled, enchanted, and humbled the president. (Which Obama has to write down to laughs.)
He says he was surprised by how bad things got from when he first started running, but also how good his staff is. He's troubled by how slowly change comes to Washington. He's enchanted by how profoundly good our nations troops are (he admits enchanted wasn't the right word) and he's humbled by how powerful the president is, but also how restrained the job can be and how much responsibility there is that comes with the office. Also gives a shout out to the American people and how he's "humbled" by their patience.

There it is

Chip Reid finally asks about Sen. Specter's switch to the Democratic Party and what Obama's legislative agenda will be, given his closeness to a 60 member Democratic "supermajority" in congress. He also asks what he thinks about the current state of the Republican party.
Obama praises Specters legislative legacy and "independent streak."
He says he doesn't want congress to be a rubber stamp for his agenda, gives a bit of a civics lesson and says that congress is a "coequal branch of government," (whoda thunk?)
He reaches out to Republicans again and says he wants to get everyone together on health care and see where they agree.

Turning to national security

Chuck Todd asks about Pakistan and Reuters asks about Iraq, Obama says he's "confident" nuclear weapons won't fall into the hands of militants in Pakistan despite eroding security there and refuses to go into a worse case scenario on what might happen if extremists get a hold of nuclear weapons.
On Iraq he downplays the recent violence there and says the US needs to work on making more political concessions to the Iraqs leaders instead of military ones and says the US needs to focus on helping them create a better government as opposed to a better military.

TORTURE!

The torture question comes up, Obama reiterates that banning torture was the right thing to do.
He says torture is not consistent with American ideals, but dodges the issue as to whether he condones prosecuting the Bush administration or whether the Bush administration sanctioned torture. He may make some news and excite liberal groups by saying that whatever legal rationales were used may have been a mistake.
Compares America to Churchill England in the 1940's detaining German pilots during the blitz, He says banning torture is a decision he's very comfortable with.
Mark Knoller from CBS follows up again, pressing the torture issue and whether Obama would torture if they knew they could get valuable information, he presses hom his previous points and saying that America is a safer place when it doesn't torture, calls torture "shortcuts that undermine who we are." Says there have been no circumstances within the first 100 days that would make him second guess his decisions on torture.

The Auto Industry question

Obama calls on the Detroit Press and they predictably ask about whether Obama supports bankruptcy for Chrysler and how he feels about progress at GM.
He says he's more "optimistic" about Chrysler than he was 30 days ago but that there's still a lot of work to do and a lot of negotiations going on.
Says he wants to get the "American government out of the auto industry as soon as possible." Parses his words carefully on continuing government intervention, leaves the door open for either option and doesn't rule out that more federal money will be needed, he does say that there's "tough choices" being made on all sides.

Please don't panic on the swine flu!

First question is inevitably about the swine flu outbreak and whether we should close the border with Mexico.
Obama says that it would be the equivelency of "closing the barn door after the horses are out." Tries to tamp down the sensationalism of the outbreak and calm some nerves, gives some praise to Bush for creating the infrastructure back in 2005 to help battle new pandemics such as this.

Opening statement

Obama goes over his accomplishments while talking about strengthening the economy. . . The senate passing his budget, the stimulus, the housing plan, revamping the war in Afghanistan, scaling down in Iraq, nuclear proliferation.
He touts his budget with the usual talking points: investments in health care, education, and clean energy are key to economic recovery and prosperity. Also sounds cautiously optimistic about the economy while still stressing that things will get worse before they get better.
How long till they get to Specter?

Live blogging the 3rd press conference

First 100 days. . . The President will be taking questions. How much will they talk about the swine flu?

Arlen Specter switches parties

Longtime Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter announced today that he is switching to the Democratic Party, which means that once Minnesota Senator Al Franken is finally seated, the democrats will have the much coveted 60 seat filibuster proof senate majority vote. Although Specter already said in a press conference today that he would not automatically vote with democrats along party lines, his switch could greatly help democrats in congress pass ambitious legislation on hot-button issues such as healthcare, global warming, and economic policy that are a major part of Obama's agenda. By pledging to vote independently despite the party switch, Specter is putting himself in a politically powerful position to wheel and deal in the Senate. Considering he's trying hard to hang on to his senate seat, I would assume that Specter is planning on calling in some favors a la California State Senator Abel Maldonado.


Republicans are already on the attack, with GOP Chairman Michael Steele issuing a statement basically saying that Specter was a political opportunist and not a true republican. I'm sure the mudd will continue to fly as public reaction to Specter's decision rolls in.

Reconciliation on Health Care?

The largely parliamentary process known as "Reconciliation," which allows for votes on some budget resolutions to be passed by simple majority, avoiding the threat of a fillibuster from the minority party, could be a reality on health care. Something the Obama administration has been pondering in order to ensure it's incredibly ambitious health care plan is passed by the end of the year.
This move would most likely infuriate Republicans and cause huge slogs down the road on any other major issue the administration wants passed as they could pull out their own parliamentary stops and grind down debate on any bill sought by Obama or the Democrats. Although reconciliation will not take place until October 15th, it's mere threat has already irked many Republicans, but may make them a little more willing to come to the bargaining table to offer their own ideas, make the bill more bipartisan and stop a partisan legislative process war that would most likely frustrate the public and handicap the white house.
Clinton tried reconciliation in 1993 to pass his own health care reform, but was blocked by Sen. Robert Byrd who refused to allow the bill to pass using reconciliation as it wasn't allowed for any other bills besides budget resolutions, which means Obama may have to make some large concessions to congress this time around if he hopes to get the authority needed.

The deal on torture

The Democrats got themselves into a mini civil war this week as the now infamous torture memos that were released by the White House Office of Legal Counsel have made their rounds in the media.
Obama's decision to release the memos has sparked a massive firefight with pressure coming on him from both the right and the left. This seems to have developed into a full blown wedge issue now, with lines being drawn laregely across partisan lines with everyone from former Vice President Dick Cheney to Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann adding fuel to the fire and keeping the story on the front pages.
Obama mudd has made the issue worse by muddling his own message this week as he, his chief of staff, and his press secretary have failed to come up with a clear answer as to whether those who were proprietors of "enhanced interrogation techniques" during the Bush Administration will be prosecuted. This would most likely include a highly publicized investigation into the most senior levels of the Bush White House and would focus congress and the national media on a story that Obama most likely wishes would just go away, especially at a time when he needs as many allies in congress as possible focused on passing his ambtious agenda on health care, energy, and education reform. He also needs to preserve as much political capital as he can for the upcoming debate on such polarizing issues as the assault weapons ban, immigration, and gays in the military.
So far, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Obama administration have come to an agreement not to launch any investigations, but their Democratic counterparts in the House, under pressue from many prominent liberal groups, are more eager to press the issue and want to keep the story going as long as possible, hoping to get enough public support for an investigation that the white house would be forced to comply.
Much like Obama's economic plans, though, his plan to release the torture memos and make a firm stance against its use against even the highest value of terrorist captives, will only be seen as successful if it works. The public backlash would be devastating if something happens to any American citizens, and his policies -- which his critics say are hamstringing intelligence gathering efforts -- produce any tragedies that may otherwise have been avoided.

It's climate week on capitol hill

Congress will kick off this week with a slew of hearings on global warming, with fifty-four witnesses, including environmental rock star Al Gore, testifying on the subject. The hearings are intended to get the ball rolling in congress to pass legislation on climate change.

The climate change issue has gotten more mainstream backing than it has in the past, and a recent report linking carbon emissions with poor human health may help assist in passing future legislation. Aside from environmental groups, sportsmen and even the Catholic church have gotten behind the effort to go green and reduce carbon emissions.

With the hearings timed symbolically with Earth Day this week, there seems to be quite a departure from the congressional bickering in the past over whether global warming exists. The question still remains whether Obama will achieve the cap-and-trade system that he wants, but congress is aiming to have a climate change bill before their Memorial Day recess.

Obama convenes first cabinet meeting, asks for cuts

President Obama convened his first cabinet meeting today, making headlines by asking for his cabinet heads to cut $100 million dollars in programs they see as wasteful or not working, holding up to his campaign pledge to go "line by line" through the federal budget.
The move is largely symbolic, as this amount adds up to not even a fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars that are being funneled into failing banks, industry and the faltering economy.
Obama has already received criticism from the right, who laud his efforts to cut spending in these departments, but feel it's absurd to think that these cuts will have any long term effect on the federal deficit which they say will be doubled or tripled over the next ten years due to his ambitious spending plans.
But the American people are hungry for action, and given that Obama's 100 day sprint is nearly over and the glacial pace of congress will continue to slog away as his huge plans will now be hashed and debated through the legislative process and announcements like today may be looked on very favorably by the nation as a whole.

More Republicans endorse gay marriage

Gerald Ford may be the highest ranking Republican ever to have formally supported gay marriage before he died, but more and more members of the GOP are announcing themselves officially as supporters of same-sex marriage.
Granted, a lot of this attention may have come as a consequence of the Log Cabin Republicans conference that was held in Washington over the weekend, but many on the right see that the GOP needs to be rebranded based on in it's core values of limited government, personal freedom, and lower taxes and that the party's recent focus on social issues such as abortion, gay rights, and immigration may be one of the reasons for their most recent decline in popularity and dismal performance at the polls.
The most recent Republicans to come out in favor of gay marriage are Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator and ex-presidential candidate John McCain, and Steve Schmidt, a veteran Republican strategist who worked for both the '04 Bush Campaign as well as the '08 McCain campaign.
Both spoke at the Log Cabin conference this past weekend, and both are trying to bring more a of a spotlight to the issue as something that traditional Republicans can get behind without compromising classic GOP ideals such as personal freedom and smaller government.
Nationwide public polling still shows the majority of the American public does not favor same-sex marriage, and lawmakers from both sides, including The President, have been hesitant to bring up bills in congress, content to allow states to draft their own local laws in favor or against. My guess is that the issue isn't going away, and wll remain a wedge issue for a long time, much the same way abortion has, even after Roe v. Wade in 1973.

NYTimes takes a note from Maureen Dowd, tells Barry O. to buck up..

After just 3 months in office, President Obama has created waves on both the right and left. While the right has been crying about getting steamrolled by the democratic majority in congress, critics on the left have countered with the claim that Obama hasn't championed liberal positions enough. The NYTimes took that position in an article from yesterday, which criticized the president on taking a soft stance on his campaign positions and for potentially being too timid to take a hard line on certain difficult issues, with healthcare reform being the primary example.

Obama has always been quick to call himself a pragmatist, and contrary to the negative connotation of the word implied in the NYTimes article, I think he might be one step ahead of his critics. Let's not forget how unsuccessful Bill Clinton was by taking a hard line stance on healthcare reform in the '90's or how well George Bush succeeded with many of the hard line stances he took.

Obama delivers major speech on the economy

President Obama delivered a major speech today entitled "A New Foundation for the Economy." In his address, Obama tempered the promise of future economic success by acknowledging that nationwide 2009 is still going tough year.

The speech began with a recap on how the U.S. got into our present economic mess in the first place and was quick to remind Americans that the situation existed before he took office. Then he explained what his administration had done so far in terms of damage control (the Recovery Act, the bank capitalization program, the housing plan, the strengthening of the non-bank credit market, the auto plan, and the G20 Summit). Finally, in what was basically a rehash of his campaign platform with a promise to clean up Wall Street thrown in, Obama explained how he was going to pull the U.S. out of the recession and set the nation back on the path to prosperity:

It's a foundation built upon five pillars that will grow our economy and make this new century another American century: new rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation; new investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive; new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and industries; new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses; and new savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations. That is the new foundation we must build. That must be our future – and my Administration's policies are designed to achieve that future.

Response to the speech is still forming. In my opinion, Obama didn't have a lot of new things to say, but rather reiterated that America just needs to "hang in there!"

Tea Party Demonstrations

The Republican party is gearing up to stage nationwide antitaxation demonstrations tomorrow. Dubbed "tea parties," these demonstrations are supposed to evoke the Boston Tea Party, and are meant to stir the pot in the national conversation regarding President Obama's plan to raise taxes on the nation's upper crust. Liberal columnist Paul Krugman wrote an interesting op-ed piece in today's NYTimes about tomorrow's event in which he basically calls the GOP a bunch of crazies.

In the midst of the tea party buzz, liberals are accusing the GOP of manufacturing the taxation outrage and calling the demonstrations an Astro Turf movement (meaning fake grass roots). We'll see how it all goes down tomorrow...

The GOP seems to be grasping at straws for a wedge issue. Last week there was a big push in the conservative media calling for the preservation of parental rights. However, the national conversation on parental seemed to promptly fizzle, perhaps this is the next attempt to get the right worked up about an issue?

Obama receives criticism from the legal left for "Bush like" DOJ

In the past 3 months it seems those on the left have been equally hopeful, optimistic, eerily cautious, suspicious, and defiant all at the same time to a new administration that many in progressive circles thought would lurch the country in a new liberal direction and champion many issues that would not be given the light of day during the Bush Administration.
Now it seems that some are becoming openly hostile.
Some of the most vocal critics of Bush's Justice Department, prominent lawyers on the left, who believed they had an ally in the new president are decrying recent actions by Obama's DOJ much in the same way they did under Bush.
The issue seems to be this administration taking away rights for detainees in Afghanistan, as well as warrantless wiretapping of US citizens, both issues that Senator, as well as Candidate Obama vehemently opposed.
Obama did vote in favor for the famous FISA bill last summer, eliciting a collective groan from leftist democrats and progressives that had largely fueled his primary victory. Although this crippled a full blown offensive the GOP surely would have launched against him to paint him as yet another weak-kneed-Dukakis-esque-liberal-terrorist-coddler, it cooled the hype on the left that many party activists carried for the freshly minted presumptive Democratic nominee.
So it shouldn't be any surprise that now, as president -- with urgent national security pressures facing him and a political need to not give conservatives any more ammunition to call him "soft on terror," -- he would come out in favor of some of the same controversial policies the Bush administration put in place after 9/11. Especially since Obama's first job as president isn't to curb a recession or pass health care reform, but it's to keep the country safe. Doing this without compromising American values is the heart of the argument, and achieving those ends is a subject that hardly anyone on either side would ever be able to agree on.

Obama wins first National Security "test," danger looms on horizon

The dramatic rescue yesterday of Captain Richard Phillips by US special forces and Navy snipers could not have worked out more perfectly for the young administration, as well as the US as a whole.
An American life was saved and everyone can take a sigh of relief, and although critics were beginning to grumble about Obama not injecting himself into the crisis more directly, it appears in a narrative that is being quietly pushed by the White House that Obama had never not been involved, having been given 17 briefings on the situation over 4 days, including many in the White House situation room. Obama had also signed off on two different declarations over the weekend to use hostile force if it appeared that the captain's life was in danger.
Obama bringing in the FBI and justice department officials shows that he has almost an obsession with lawfulness, possbly due to his legal pedigree and careful, cautious nature as well as ensuring his early actions are not seen as too close to that of his predecessor.
Although politics will likely be left out of this situation as everyone can just relish in the fact that for once the good guys won, critics will be more likely to ease off any early criticism of Obama's future actions of using the vast military power at his disposal.
Still, Obama may have created a new situation for himself with these actions. Predictably, some pirates that operate off the coast of Somalia have sworn revenge against both the Americans and French and have vowed to kill more sailors, which means that there will only be more incidents like this in the future and may force the administration to make more hard decisions as to how much they really want to escalate this crisis.

Obama puppy finally here!

His name is Bo, he's a portugese water dog. There is already a "controversy" swirling around because WaPo was supposed to get first dibs on the puppy report and it didn't turn out that way. I couldn't help myself, I'm a sucker for baby animals and it's a slow news day..

Mixed Reaction On Missle Defense

Since Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced his plan to scale down the nation's defense arsenal earlier this week, reactions to the decision have been mixed. There are have been complaints on the left such as in today's NYTimes Editorial that the cost cutting measures did not go far enough. On the right accusations are flying that Obama is endangering the United States by putting us at risk for future attacks, particularly in light of North Korea's recent missle launch.

While the DoD changes their strategy to direct military spending toward defending the US from our present known enemies, rather than from old threats from the Cold War era and the imagined enemies of the future, I'm left wondering whether the White House really had a choice in the matter considering the current state of the economy. While critics have cited the potential devestation the U.S. could face if we lose our superpower status and face attacks from Russia or even China, the risks of out of control healthcare spending, waves of aging entitlement program recipients, and the cost of losing out in the global economy to better educated nations are known. While the U.S. has become accustomed to waving a big stick around at the rest of the world for the past 70 years, perhaps we finally have no choice but to put the stick away and start sharpening our pencils at home.

Goodbye budget, hello national security

With what seems to be weeks upon weeks of fighting over budgets, spending, taxes and other domestic matters that sapped Democrats' political capital in Washington, the congressional recess now gives the White House an opportunity to pivot into more friendly territory: National Security.
Already Obama has seen his approval ratings go up on the heels of his mostly successful trip to Europe and a new poll released today by ABC and The Washington Post shows that almost 70% of Americans are favorable of his policy in trying to renew relations with the muslim world, a policy he hammered home today when Obama told the Turkish parliament in an address that the US was "not at war with Islam." A statement that rippled through the middle east as Obama's address was carried live on all major Arab and middle eastern networks.
Also trying to steer the conversation away from the polarizing budget issue will be the defense department, as Secretary Robert Gates will outline a plan to streamline the military to be more effective less as a conventional war power, but more as an anti-incursion, anti-guerilla fighting unit, as the defense department predicts that many of the combat that US forces will see over the next few decades will be on this scale. His plans are also an effort by the administration to save money and take funds from defense spending that has ballooned over the last decade and focus it more into the administration's plans for raised domestic spending to both fight the weakening economy, and secure appropriations for items such as renewable energy, education, and health care.
All of this also comes on the eve of North Korea's semi-failed attempt to launch a satellite over the weekend. Which many are saying will now be Obama's first true National Security test, as many in the UN security council aren't showing any indication of wanting to chastise North Korea, despite Obama saying in Prague yesterday that the launch was dangerous and should be criticized.

It's a tie!

In last week's special election in New York's 20th Congressional district to replace Democrat Kristin Gillibrand, who was appointed by Gov. Patterson to replace former Senator Hillary Clinton, Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Jim Tedisco have achieved something quite odd, their race has produced a statistical tie, literally, as Joe Biden might say.
Although this will change as more absentee ballots are counted and as legal proceedings mount, the current tally shows both candidates with exactly 77,225 votes, a huge statistical anomoly even in modern politics where close elections are sometimes the theme of the day (See: Minnesota Senate Race recount.) It's almost a little baffling to actually think about the probability of this happening when over 150,000 votes are cast.
The subsequent recount will inevitably drag on and on as both Democrats and Republicans gird their loins and line up impressive legal teams to handle their arguments before state courts.
The district has an overwhelming Republican voter registration and Republican party leaders had hoped that a rout here would prove that voters were already rejecting the ambitious spending proposals of President Obama, as Murphy, a local business leader had largely stuck to party-line talking points and came out widely in favor of the stimulus bill and the administration's budget. The district slimly voted for Obama, and Gillibrand, a democrat, was seen by many in the state to be a largely conservative voice for her party. Obama sent an email out to supporters in the district two weeks ago, and Biden did his share, recording robo calls in favor of Murphy.
The legal proceedings and recounts could take months to hash out as neither side will budge and large amounts of party money will be poured into the legal fight on all ends.

The house passes Obama's budget

While Obama is winning the hearts and minds of Europe, his congressional allies back home brought his administration a domestic win today as The House Of Representatives passed his ambitious budget by a partisan vote of 233-196.
The budget has been dominating congressional discussions lately and the white house staff have been working overtime lately to ensure it's passage before the spring recess next week, when a lot of crestfallen Representatives have to go home to their districts and explain themselves and their votes to a weary and beleaguered public tired of continuing bailouts of failing businesses, and lax oversight of banks profiting from continued federal assistance.
With talk of everything from health care reform to budget deficits, the debate has been lively, but last minute negotiations and political strongarming by Speaker Nancy Pelosi were able to secure the budget's last minute passage.
The administration now has to tackle the Senate, where this budget has few friends and Republicans and moderate Democrats have announced skepticism over the deficits and spending programs the budget outlines, with The Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad himself openly questioning many of the budgets own provisions.
Still, after weeks of domestic hostility, Obama can chalk today's vote up to a win, moments like this are few and far between for any administration, especially these days.

G20 Summit Wraps Up

While headlines started out wary earlier this week over whether President Obama would still be embraced by europeans, he left London seemingly more popular than ever - even in spite of bestowing Queen Elizabeth with an i-pod.

Ill-chosen gifts aside, Obama came away from London with a few international kudos in tow. The president met with President Medvedev of Russia to discuss scaling down nuclear weapons and a plan to join forces to keep Iran in check. Obama also promised China's president he would visit China later this year, which is interesting in light of the fact that China just announced that it will strive to become the world leader in manufacturing electric cars in the next 3 years. And as if being the belle of the ball wasn't enough, the Prime Minister of India asked Obama for his autograph.

The big take away from the G-20 Summit was a resolution to inject $750 billion into the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Summit also concluded with the G20 taking a hard line against tax havens and a call to keep global free trade going. One other interesting point: after Obama called on other nation's to inject money into their economies, not a single nation at the G20 Summit pledged to do so. I guess even the most popular guy in the world can't get everything he wants..