<\/p>\n
President Obama has been in office 100 days and apparently that means Cabinet and Advisors:\u00a0B<\/p>\n For all the talk about how carefully people were going to be Economic Recovery:\u00a0B<\/p>\n This inherited mess is still the major issue facing our Foreign Policy:\u00a0A-<\/p>\n It is very nice to again see huge crowds gathering to cheer The issue of torture almost rises to its own category but Culture Wars:\u00a0B+<\/p>\n Barack Obama has taken the steam out of the culture wars Environment: A-<\/p>\n While the President has not been able to\u00a0implement\u00a0major reforms yet, it is clear they are coming. \u00a0For the first time we are taking climate change as well as oil independence seriously and putting money behind it. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n American Sense of Hope:\u00a0A-<\/p>\n
\nthat we get to evaluate him.\u00a0 <\/span>I
\ndon’t know when this time frame was established but 100 days doesn’t even equal
\na semester so it seems pretty early to be giving “report cards.”\u00a0 <\/span>However, why not weigh in on how it is
\ngoing?\u00a0 <\/span>I should say that at
\nPrinceton, where I serve as Associate Dean of Religious Life we have instituted
\npolicies to combat grade inflation, so President Obama shouldn’t
\nexpect “A” s across the board.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nvetted, President Obama had a hard time.\u00a0
\n<\/span>There was a pattern of nominating people and then having them bow out,
\neither for corruption reasons – Bill Richardson and Tom Daschle; or political
\nones – Judd Gregg.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Tim
\nGeitner and Larry Summers still seem like weak choices.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Even though it is clear that both
\nare intelligent men, they have not been convincing as public figures and that
\nis part of what that job requires right now.\u00a0 <\/span>On the other had, Steven Chu (energy), Hilary Clinton
\n(state) and Robert Gates (defense) were inspired choices; as is Kathleen Sebellius
\n(HHS) once the republican silliness dies down.<\/p>\n
\ncountry and it is hard to say what effect Obama’s efforts will have.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The stimulus package, according
\nto almost every serious economist, was the way to go.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As a layperson when it comes to the economy it is hard
\nto compare the talk of a strengthening market with the rising unemployment.\u00a0 <\/span>Let’s hope that money gets used to put
\nas many people to work as possible.\u00a0
\n<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>While the republicans put
\non a show of tea bagging for tax day, I am not sure their efforts resonated
\nwith those many more people who are hoping that the stimulus package can help
\nthem get or keep a job so they can pay taxes to begin with.\u00a0 <\/span>It is surprising and telling the amount
\nof Americans who now approve of socialism<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnot protest when our president visits a foreign country.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He is enormously popular abroad,
\nincluding in countries which are traditionally viewed as our enemies. \u00a0<\/span>He has promised to lead by listening and
\nbeing part of a global community and all of that plays well abroad and
\n(contrary to the outrageous bullshit that Dick Cheney is spewing these days) it
\nwill make us safer. His outreach to the Muslim world including an interview on
\nal Arabiya news<\/a>, and a speech in Turkey has begun to shift opinions about
\nAmerican in that part of the world.\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span>He and Secretary Clinton appear to be serious about maintaining pressure
\non Israel and Palestine to restart efforts at peace after years of neglect
\nunder George Bush.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The
\nmain issues still to confront the President are Afghanistan and Iraq and it is
\nnot clear at all that he has an exit plan from either of those countries or is
\nclear that we should have one.<\/p>\n
\nlet’s just say that Obama is doing a very good job on this (B +).\u00a0 <\/span>He is balancing his promise of
\ntransparency with trying not to get enmeshed in a protracted political battle
\naround prosecution of the previous administration.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I hope we can avoid that battle but if the republicans
\ncontinue to insist that there was no wrongdoing (Bill Bennett was especially disgusting
\non CNN<\/a> when he compared the water boarding that our own troops endure from one
\nanother in training to the actual practice of water boarding of prisoners for
\nwhich we prosecuted the Japanese for after WW2)\u00a0 <\/span>then prosecution may be the only way forward.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
\nsomewhat by his efforts at reaching across the aisle on questions such as
\nabortion and gay rights (which, lets face it, are the culture wars). While
\nthere is no question that Barack Obama supports full rights for gay people,
\nhopefully he will have the courage soon to voice that opinion vis a vis
\nmarriage although it is probably wise for him to hold off until after the 2012
\nelection. While some are claiming he is the most radical pro-abortion president
\never, he also has defenders among the pro-life crowd who appreciate his
\nabortion reduction strategy. Largely he has his Council on Faith Based and
\nCommunity Partnerships to thank for the muted tone of the culture wars.\u00a0 <\/span>The President appointed a diverse group
\nof people to help advise him on religious and social <\/a>policy – throwing almost
\ntoo many olive branches towards the right in my opinion (but I guess that is
\nwhy it was a good idea from the stand point of calming the culture wars).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Still, it will remain to be
\nseen how this council actually functions and whether they can agree on
\nanything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n