Joe Biden, like most presidents, made much of supposed achievements in his first 100 days. Remember how, arriving in office, he promised 100 million COVID vaccine doses in that period. It was a soft target, for, as some of us pointed out, the vaccination pace on Inauguration Day, for which he could claim no credit, was sufficient to reach his goal. But by touting it, he demonstrated the significance attributed to the 100 days milestone.

Less attention is paid to the 200 days milestone. This is a mistake. For the first 100 days is a three-month blur when an administration is taking shape and its successes and failures haven’t had time to come into focus. It’s in the second hundred days, when the razzmatazz and newness are over and an administration has lost its first freshness, that one can really judge.