50 Days Here, 100 Days There

[WilliamPitt]

50 Days Here, 100 Days There
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Columnist

Friday 13 March 2009

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Barack Obama is less than 50 days away from becoming the twelfth American president to face the "First 100 Days" benchmark set by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The eleven presidents before Obama were all kicked in the pants by this highly subjective standard of performance, to varying degrees of severity - Truman got it the worst due to his proximity to the standard-creator, and due to his suddenly being put in charge of the Second World War, of course - and Mr. Obama will be faced with the same comparison come springtime.

What did FDR do in his first 100 days? Not much if you discount the New Deal; passage of the Emergency Banking Act reopened most Depression-shuttered banks in the country and creation of the FDIC stopped runs on those banks; passage of the Economy Act brought the budgetary chaos under manageable control; the Agricultural Adjustment Act brought farmers back from the brink with the creation of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which gave rise to such beneficial entities as the Resettlement Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Rural Electrification Administration and the Farm Security Administration; and by repealing the Volstead Act and ending Prohibition, Roosevelt and everyone else in the country could have themselves a legal drink while pondering how much had gotten accomplished in those first 100 days.

Pretty stiff competition for any president to live up to. The eleven presidents after FDR all pretty much failed to measure up, and Mr. Obama is in line to become the twelfth to fall short. There is no shame in this; it is an impossible benchmark to match, given the circumstances. Rather than debate the relative merits, or lack thereof, involved in the "First 100 Days" standard, let us instead take a few moments to do a little compare-and-contrast of recent presidential history. Three American presidents have been in office since 1993 - Clinton, Bush and Obama. How do their records stack up against each other?

The rest: http://www.truthout.org/031309A

[proud patriot]

1. Excellent article William

this reminds me I need to get your new book .

[DCKit]

2. Obama is smart as shit, he's got (management) skills and one hell of a team.

In fifty days, he's accomplished more than * did in any single year - good things, as opposed to the destruction wrought by the previous crew. And he hasn't taken a single two week vacation YET.

Fifty more days to hit a benchmark for success? What are the Republics going to complain about? "He's a failure 'cause he didn't do as much as Roosevelt in only 100 days?" Puh-leese.

[Historic NY]

3. Thank you , I wish I saw your post before I went rad on a RWinger...

the whining & hang ringing of this bunch is pathetic.

[WilliamPitt]

4. I'll give you a heads up next time

;) :toast:

[npk]

5. Great article Will. I would like to add

The first 100 days seems like a long time for the media who have all been counting the days to the time when they can officially confirm that President Obama hasn't solved every problem left behind by the previous administration, but most American people knew long ago that the first 100 days would not tell the tale of where this administration is headed and how far it has come. We will all be told, mainly by the right wing press, that Obama has been given his 100 day honeymoon and guess what he has failed to turn around the economy, provide improvement to our health care system, reform education, and solve our energy crisis. The media will then believe they have the full backing of the American people to start trying to tear down this administration and they will try. I just hope that I am wrong.

Most of us in this country realize that it is going to take way more than 100 days before we see any real sign of improvement, and I agree that no president can measure up to that benchmark which is often defined by the media and not the American people.

[annabanana]

6. "100 Days" is 100% artificial. It's like the myriad "100 Greatest Hits

of the 70's" or Letterman's "Top Ten".

The fact that the media seems to be panting for major benchmarks at some arbitrary post in the road irritates the hell out of me.. . But there it is, and I think that President Obama has already acquitted himself well.

[BobTheSubgenius]

7. Impressive!

Above all, try something!