So, we've reached the mythical, point that always seems to be some kind of benchmark for Presidential Administrations. "100 Days!".
Except, Barack Obama doesn't operate like that. He doesn't operate on the nightly news schedule. He gives speeches, to be sure, and does appearances - most recently at a green factory in Iowa - but he isn't focused on whether or not he gets a good story on the three networks, or a good spin during the on-going 24-hour news stations. Recognizing the artificiality of the pressure-cooker created by 24-hour news channels, Obama has opted, for whatever his reasons may be, to govern as an adult. He understands the depth of the challenges he faces, not the least of them being an establishment that is geared to doubt the effectiveness of any attempt he may make at correcting the situation.
For that reason, his one big piece of legislation - the Economic Stimulus package - passed pretty much as he proposed it, after some back and forth, especially in the Senate. This remarkable victory - which is yet to be seen for what it is - shows both his intelligence and political abilities. His refusal to make more of the pirate situation, and the swiftness and almost absolute silence that accompanied it, also shows his confidence, and his refusal to allow events, or the conventional wisdom of the chattering classes, to dictate how he should respond.
We are at the beginning of a very long ride with Pres. Obama; he understands this better than we do. He operates with that understanding. The Washington-based new media, in particular, is still locked in to certain mindsets, relying on some very tired - and occasionally unreliable - sources for analysis and commentary. One of the biggest assumptions, I believe, is the necessity to play to the 24-hour news channels. Precisely because of their ubiquity, however, they create a sense of importance and crisis in even the most mundane situation.
The most important thing I have taken from the first 100 days of the Obama Administration is that we are dealing with a President, and senior staff, who refuse to allow the agenda to be set by others. That would include how to respond to the most serious economic situation in a quarter century.
On the other hand, many liberals are upset that Obama has not simply moved with lightning speed, for example, to take legal action against those who authorized the use of torture during the Bush Administration. I think that he will no more be pushed to act by his natural constituency than by his opponents. Part of the reason for this, I think, is a sense of propriety; one of the things Obama is asserting is the inherent limitations of the Office of the President, and simultaneously the independence of the Department of Justice. He has also refused to insist that Congress do anything - in regard to the torture memos or anything else - precisely because it is an equal branch of government to the Executive.
In other words, we are looking at a patient, fairly deliberate man using that patience and deliberation for the long-term benefit of the country.
With just 100 days under his belt, Barack Obama has already signaled to the country that he is in this for the long haul. I think the best is yet to come.
