Barack Obama: The First 200 Days

Periodically judging a president's performance every one hundred days may be arbitrary, but considering the tremendous activity coming from Washington D.C. recently it may actually be relevant in this case.

This might surprise some people, but I'd actually give President Obama a C+ for his first two hundred days. I don't give him this grade because I fundamentally disagree with his policies, rather I think he's allowed his policies to be implemented to moderately.


I absolutely give him credit for the early accomplishments of his administration. That's go over them because the media doesn't necessarily advertise all of the nuts-and-bolts things he has done which have positively changed our government.

1. Obama set aside millions of acres of land for environmental protection. After the Bush administration played fast and loose with environmental standards for 8 years, Obama's EPA is actually taking the preservation of land seriously.
2. He issued an executive directive establishing the right of women to sue for wage discrimination. Women still make less than men on average and this action might lead to significant change in that area.
3. Reversed the Bush administration ban on embryonic stem cell research. What do I have to say about this? I'm just glad we have a president in the White House whose not afraid to act morally without being moralistic.
4. Reversed the Bush administration's "Mexico City" policy, which barred the government from giving federal aid from international organizations that perform abortions or give information about abortions. I give Bush credit for how dramatically he increased funding for AIDS relief in Africa, but I shutter to think about how seriously our international aid efforts were undermined by this crudely religious policy.
5. Obama's administration declared that future military interrogations will strictly follow the prescribed methods laid out in the Army Field Manual. In other words, no more TORTURE.

Okay... those are all wonderful accomplishments, but not everything has been that smooth. For instance, Obama plans to close Guantanamo Bay, which is critically important, but as far as I can tell, there are no guarantees that the new facility which will hold those prisoners will be any less victimizing.

Also, I actually think the expansive bailout and stimulus packages that have been implemented by Obama's administration were absolutely necessary, but they haven't been carried out as effectively as they could be. So much of the stimulus money hasn't even gotten to the states yet (albeit that has something to do with the resistance Republican governors like Jindal are giving him); also, in terms of the bailout, I learned recently that the same companies and firms which allowed the government to nationalize their debt have been doling out extravagant bonuses again.

And then there's health care. It might be premature to label his health care reform efforts a failure... in truth, I don't think they will be. I'm confident that Obama will push through some kind of reform legislation that hopefully reduces the amount of people who don't have health care insurance in this country. My only concerns is that the reform legislation won't go far enough because Obama has allowed obstructionist Republicans and spineless, moderate "blue dog" democrats to hijack the agenda. There are nearly 50 million people in this country who don't have health insurance and there are thousands who die each other because the insurance they do have denies them the most critical care, and still Republicans have the temerity to propagandize about the dangers of socialized medicine. Republicans like to believe that they have better values than the Democrats, but how can that be true when they are taking the side of the insurance companies over millions of Americans who should have the RIGHT to health care? Democrats should call Republicans out on it and say it how it is. Not supporting some universal health care program is IMMORAL.

So, there it is. If Obama comes out this health care debate with a better than average national health care plan, then I'd probably elevate his score to B+ or even an A. We'll see.