Amid a dizzying array of challenges, President Obama has shown great courage and discipline in his first three months in power, writes James Zogby* One hundred days do not make a presidency. But that didn't stop the media circus that unfolded last week. Major networks and newspapers designed "one hundred day" logos, created "scorecards", and devoted unending coverage to an evaluation of the new US president's performance. The White House continued to insist that the 100th day was a day like any other. Nevertheless, determined not to let the story spin out of control, the US president held a prime time news conference, ensuring that the White House stamp would be on the stories of the day. In a sense, the White House was right. The first three months of a presidency do not provide enough data to predict the long-term success or failure of an administration. But like any other artificially imposed metric, the 100-day measure (which has been used since the first term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933), can be useful, if for no other reason than to allow an early assessment of performance, ascertaining patterns of behaviour, organisation, and style of governance. Like other first impressions, it may prove to be wrong, but it sets a tone and, rightly or wrongly, influences later judgments. During the long 2008 presidential campaign we learned a great deal about Barack Obama. He set a determined course of action, and with a discipline unmatched by his initially better known and more experienced rivals he won. He appeared unflappable, even in the face of unexpected challenges that threatened to derail his candidacy. He promised to tackle big problems by making major changes, leaving no challenge unmet. Recall how during the early days of the financial crisis, when faced with the collapse of the nation's lending institutions, John McCain suspended his campaign, announcing he was returning to Washington in an effort to impact Congress's handling of the crisis. Obama rejected this approach and, unfazed, chided his opponent, reminding him that a president would be expected to do more than one thing at a time. It is with this same sense of confidence and determination to address the multiple crises facing the US that President Obama has approached his first few months in office. On his first full day as president, for example, he called Arab leaders pledging his commitment to Middle East peace. On the next day he appointed Senator George Mitchell and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke as special envoys, following this with a wide-ranging interview on Al-Arabiya television reaffirming his determination to achieve peace and improve relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds. On these very same days, the president ordered the closing of Guantanamo and ended the use of torture. He set strict limits on the role of lobbyists in his administration, expanded the rights of women in the workplace, and ended decades of restrictions on stem cell research. The White House also secured passage of a massive "stimulus bill" that was specifically designed not only to spur economic growth and save jobs, but also to advance the agenda on which the president had run his campaign: expanding healthcare, improving education, rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, and developing renewable energy. If this were not enough, President Obama made clear his deadline for ending the war in Iraq, while detailing a new approach to the Afghan war, which now included an effort to stabilise the situation in Pakistan. He also took steps to deliver on his campaign promise to ease tensions and begin a dialogue with Cuba, Syria and Iran. In short, recognising that he had inherited complex crises on several fronts, President Obama rejected the cautionary advice that he focus on one or two, and instead used his first 100 days to put his stamp on all of them. He has governed, to date, as he campaigned: taking on big issues while maintaining a dizzying pace, and displaying the same unflappability and confidence and the same intelligence and discipline. And through all of this, despite a deepening partisan divide, the president has maintained high job approval ratings. He closed out his first 100 days with a rating of 65 per cent -- averaging over 63 per cent for the entire period -- the highest ratings for any president in recent history. More important is the impact he has had on the public mood. When in October 2008 US voters were asked whether they believed the country was moving in the right or wrong direction, only 12 per cent said in the right direction, with 79 per cent saying in the wrong direction. Today, those right direction/wrong direction numbers are even, at 43 per cent. Impressive? Yes, but it is only the beginning, and as the president noted in his news conference, many challenges remain, with many problems unresolved. The economic crisis can still grow, the situation in Iraq or Afghanistan/Pakistan can worsen, or other crises can yet emerge (i.e. the H1N1 virus). As I noted in an article published shortly after the election, the true measure of a president is not found in his ability to impose his agenda, but in his response to unexpected challenges. In this regard President Obama's ability to coolly face down multiple crises, maintaining confidence and the support of the public, has created a solid first impression of confidence and leadership that should serve him well in the months to come. * The writer is president of the Arab American Institute.
