Obama Days 101 to 200

So much is made about taking stock of a new president upon the completion of his first 100 days in office. This arbitrary period of 3 months and 10 days has been a benchmark since FDR threw down the gauntlet and met with Congress for the first 100 days of his administration. Congress granted him every request he made during that time but even now it is debated whether those first strands of the New Deal hastened, delayed or had no effect on the recovery from the Great Depression.

President Barack Obama has also received congressional approval on all of his requests, although it took 2 attempts for the Stimulus Bill and several others were Executive Orders rather than votes brought before Congress.

Most commentators are largely positive about the amount of action President Obama has taken during his first 100 days and almost unanimously impressed with how much he has heaped onto his plate. Opinions on the specific actions taken and their impact range widely, but tend to be positive and optimistic.

Even though there have been some curve balls in this first 100 days (Somali pirates, Swine Flu, etc.), a lot of what the Obama Administration has been able to do was planned or being organized even before the Inauguration. This is much like a pro or college football team that scripts their first 15 to 20 offensive plays. The real challenge is starting to happen in the 2nd 100 days.

The bailouts for the financial and auto industries have been put in motion and the Stimulus Package has started to be distributed. Results will start to be expected. Pakistan and Afghanistan will take on more prominent roles in our daily collective consciousness and the potential for a deadly quagmire beyond the scope of Iraq is very real. Iran and North Korea continue to show that they want to remain in the spotlight among volatile regimes. Unemployment will hit 10% during the heat of the summer and that does not bode well for several inner-city locations. Health Care reform will be engaged and that is unlikely to be a smooth ride.

The really tough stuff is just beginning. So, it is comforting to know we have a President who can keep his cool, roll up his sleeves and drain 17 footers with ease.

Mr. Magic Bullet Makes his Biggest Redirection

Senator Arlen Spector,

the man behind the "Magic Bullet Theory" to explain how a single bullet caused all of the non-fatal wounds in JFK and John Connally,

the man who voted "Not Proven" in the impeachment proceedings for President Bill Clinton,

the man who has long been the most moderate Republican member of the Senate and who has often said he is "personally opposed to abortion", but is "a supporter of a woman's right to choose"

on Tuesday announced that he was switching from from the Republican to Democratic party. This is not the first time Arlen has switched parties. In 1965, Arlen Specter as a registered Democrat ran for District Attorney on the Republican ticket as a registered Democrat. He easily beat incumbent Jim Crumlish, and then subsequently changed his registration to Republican.

This gives the Democrats 57 officially registered members of the Senate as well as 2 Independents who caucus with them. Al Franken now is the magic 60th "Democrat" and when he is seated (whenever Norm Coleman faces reality)

Was this a personal survival tactic? Yes, and Arlen is pretty forthcoming about that. He has said a couple of times that he is "Unwilling to subject my 29 years in the senate to the Republican primary." He further stated that,"I have not represented the Republican party, I have represented the people of Pennsylvania. I will not be an automatic 60th vote for the Democrats as there are issues that I continue to see differently."

So what are the short and long term effects of this change? Well, Arlen will probably vote about the same as if he had been a Republican with one very significant difference. He will not be put in the position of having to take political stands to improve his chances to win the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania senator in 2010. With over 200,000 PA Republicans changing party registration during the run-up to the 2008 Presidential election, the PA Republican party is on the whole a lot more conservative than in was in 2006 when Arlen Spector narrowly won renomination (51% - 49%) over Republican congressman Pat Toomey who has announced he is running in 2010 and was showing a large lead over Spector in early polls.

Spector may wind up voting with Dems to invoke cloture on issues and then vote against them. Spector doesn't like the concept of the filibuster enabling a minority to prevent an issue from coming to a vote and now he doesn't have to worry about that effecting his political career. Spector will have the full support of the Democratic party and President Obama in his 2010 re-election bid which bodes very well for him.

Has it Only Been 100 Days? (Er, no, only 94 Actually)

Who was the last president who undertook as many issues, pieces of legislation and executive orders as Barack Obama has done leading up to the end of his first 100 days in office. Forget about comparing on numbers alone, how about the magnitude of the issues? Probably none in recent history and perhaps none in all of history.

Agree or disagree with the choices Obama has made in Economics, National Security and International Relations you have to admit that the man has been busy and hasn't shirked from fighting on multiple fronts simultaneously.

Not only has Barack Obama been working to resolve the immediate issues, but he has taken several steps toward trying to take a stab at long term problems with energy, financial oversight, education, and the environment to name just a few.

Again, you can agree or disagree with his plans (and most of us have at least 1 in both columns), but actually, that really isn't anywhere near as important as whether or not his plans wind up working.

Even if several of Obama's plans fail, and fail on a large enough scale that he is ushered out of office in 2012, the precedent for taking significant action on several crucial issues simultaneously will be set for the next Chief Executive. He or she will then know at least one direction not to take on those failed issues making it somewhat more likely that they will get it correct.

Is Obama becoming that Tough but Fun Uncle we Love?

Many of us have had that person in our lives (male or female) who showed us where the lines were drawn and what we could or couldn't do, but also were playful, funny and fun. They weren't our parents and perhaps because of that, we listened even more carefully when they told us a life lesson. They may have been a relative or a family friend, but they didn't have to set you straight, many others in their positions didn't, so it showed they really cared enough not to let you get away with something. It wasn't all rules and lessons though. They loved to play. They were the adult in our lives that played with us like an equal and that made us listen to them even more. (Word to parents - we can all find a way to be more like this to our kids).

I had been thinking about Barack Obama talking to the American people about what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. Then, he gave a talk today at Georgetown University and this image of the tough, fun Uncle came rushing to me. You can read the full text or the blog version of it at the Whitehouse website.

In addition to spending a good deal of time weaving the narrative of "how we got here", Obama threw down the requirement that government, companies and the public face the music and take steps that will produce long-term benefits rather than short-term profits and pain-avoidance.

This will be known as his "House Upon a Rock" speech. Obama described the 5 pillars upon which the foundation of a new economy would be built. They are:

1) Financial rules that provide appropriate protections, punishment and incentives
2) Investment in education, particularly for early childhood
3) Investment in and development of Renewable Energy
4) Health Care reform
5) Budget savings to reduce deficit

Tough stuff with short term pain and most gains not occurring for many years. Spoken like a man who isn't afraid to be a one term president, and because of that, he may NOT become one.