When are Americans gonna wise up and start impeachment process for Barack HUSSEIN Obama and throw Fareed the radical Muslim anti-American infidel in a prison cell at GITMO ?
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LIVE TALK
Obama's First 100 Days
Transcript: Jonathan Alter's Live Talk about President Obama's first 100 days in office.
Updated: 6:28 p.m. ET Apr 25, 2009
12:00 Mark Coatney
Welcome to our Live Talk with Newsweek's Jonathan Alter on President Obama's first 100 days in office. Alter is the author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope; his piece in this week's NEWSWEEK looks at how Obama has done so far in a historical context. He'll be taking your questions now. Welcome, Jonathan.
12:02 Jonathan Alter
Hi, Everyone!!
12:03 Comment From Chris
How meaningful are the first 100 days really? How predictive are they of a president's or Obama's success over the full term?
12:07 Jonathan Alter
A good start out of the gate is extremely important in the success of any president, especially in domestic policy. While 100 days is an artificial standard, it's also handy way to measure whether a president has the tools to government effectively. It's hard to know what events will shape Obama's future. He could still easily have a failed presidency. Bush did ok in his first 100 days and it didn't help in the long run. But it clearly greatly improves the odds of success when you've already put points on the board. Obama, because of the recession and his own efforts and cooperation with Congress, has already gotten more through Congress in 100 daysthan Bill Clinton did in 8 years.
NEXT 100 DAYS
For Obama, the next 100 days could be the real test.
12:07 Comment From tedDC
What is Obama's single biggest achievement so far?
12:10 Jonathan Alter
I would say that his biggest achievement so far is showing that, contrary to what was alleged during the campaign, he is more than a lot of fancy talk. He made a series of bold promises and has made a good start on keeping them. That counts for a lot with the American people.
12:10 Comment From sharon
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:10 PM
is obama being viewed more or less critically thn previous presidents?
12:08 Jonathan Alter
Yes, Obama is benefitting from a generally positive press, in part because he won by a greater margin than either of the last two presidents and is more popular than they were at this point and the tone of media coverage often tracks with approval ratings. Also, the distractions and media feeding frenzies of the past get less traction when the country is facing a lot of serious problems.
12:11 Comment From john1973
NPR just had a piece about how, in Obama's efforts to repair the U.S.'s image abroad, he has to walk a fine line between reconciliation and seeming like a pushover. He has to show some backbone, too. do you see that as being a problem for him?
12:15 Jonathan Alter
Obama's efforts to restore America's position in the world also got off to a good start, and that counts as an achievement. But he, like any president, needs to seem strong as well as conciliatory. Killing those pirates delivered a signal of strength, but bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia (a protocol screw-up not much different from Bush kissing him) did not.
I think it's silly to call shaking hands with Chavez or moving toward establishing diplomatic relations with Syria and Iran weak. It's actually a sign of confidence and security to talk to your enemies. Talking is not appeasing. It's easy to talk to your friends. Smart presidents on foreign policy (including Nixon and Reagan) also talk to their enemies. Generally, Obama is striking the right tone of humility and he's smart to hit the "re-set" button on international relations.
12:16 Comment From ELLIE
I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE LARGE DEFICITS. HAS OBAMA PUT IN PLACE ANYWAY TO ADDRESS THIS ?
12:20 Jonathan Alter
To paraphrase the late Sen. Ev Dirksen, "a trillion here a trillion there and pretty soon you're talking about real money." Deficits are definitely a problem but it's important to understand that they are a medium and long-term problem not an immediate one. In the short term there is no alternative to spend, spend, spend. It's the only way to get out of a recession or a Depression (it was huge government spending on the eve of Wolrd War II that eventually got us out of the Depression). The key thing to look for is spending as a percentage of GDP. It is going up perilously. But remember, it was over 100 percent of GDP during World War II and we had insanely high deficits. It took only a decade or so to work them off. The same with the high deficits of the 1980s. By 2000, we had a surplus. So these deficits can be reduced (though Obama is too rosy to say cut in half) over the next decade. To do so, we will need cuts in all kinds oif entitlement programs (that's where the big money is). They will be painful and a lot of Obama supporters will complain. But it's coming. Just not yet.
12:20 Comment From WashDem
to what extent do you think O will get sidetracked on his bigger agenda items by crises that keep arising (Somali pirates, swine flu, etc.)?
12:22 Jonathan Alter
The amazing thing to me is that he hasn't been sidetracked more. The news cycle moves so fast that the old days of getting bogged down by passing crises may be coming to an end. Last week, it was torture. This week, swine flu. Next week, something else. But the White House keeps plugging away on its agenda. Where I'm critical is that there hasn't been a more laserlike focus on the bank rescue plan, which I think is flawed.
12:22 Comment From JKD AL
The torture memos have taken a back seat to swine flu, but when the pictures are released I'm sure that the topic will be front and center again. Do you think that Obama will be forced into appointing a special prosecutor?
12:25 Jonathan Alter
Torture will be back but no, I don't think Obama will appoint a special prosecutor. He has made it clear that he thinks criminalizing these policy differences would hurt the CIA and the country. I can live with that (though I'd still like to see Judge Bybee forced to resign from the bench).
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