On a routine Thursday earlier this month, President Barack Obama proposed a major new high-speed rail initiative, published a story on the economy in 31 newspapers, flew to Mexico, released the torture memos and attended an evening reception.
The frenetic, campaignlike pace is no accident. In his first 99 days, the president is doing his job the same way he won it: by relentlessly campaigning and maintaining a high profile with appearances at public events.
Ultimately, of course, Obama will be judged on the success of his policies, and right now he’s a picture of confidence.
“I know there’s some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time,” Obama said recently. “They forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad and passed the Homestead Act and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of civil war.”
The economy and war in Afghanistan are the problems Obama inherited that constitute the biggest tests of his presidency. In his first months in office, the president took aim at these issues by launching a massive economic stimulus program and increasing troop deployments to Afghanistan.
Along the way, he proposed a cap-and-trade program with hopes of easing greenhouse gas emissions, vowed to work toward a nuclear-free future and began a process to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and end the war in Iraq.
In a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Monday, 75 percent of respondents said they believed Obama had the personality and leadership qualities important for a president, but just 57 percent said they agreed with him on important issues.
“These soft, high approval ratings have buoyed him for now,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. “But in the second 100 days, when the focus becomes national security, energy and health care, there is a chance all of that public goodwill may evaporate.”
Madden said the White House, still in full campaign mode, was focusing on short-term gains and high polling numbers, and not doing enough on long-term problems such as job growth and soaring deficits.
“The proof in the pudding will be in the eating,” said James A. Baker III, former secretary of state and adviser to three Republican presidents.
He is critical of Obama’s economic policies — Baker believes, for example, that automakers should be allowed to go bankrupt — but he praised the president’s nascent foreign policy, notably the careful engagement with Iran and “hitting the reset button on Russia.”
Staying active and visible has helped Obama deflect criticism and communicate directly with Americans.
Martha Joynt Kumar, a political scientist at Towson University and a specialist on presidential communications, said only Obama and Richard Nixon have used formal, prime-time evening press conferences during their first 100 days. Nixon had one; Obama on Wednesday will convene his third.
Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, said Obama’s polling numbers were strong in part because Americans feel reassured that he’s doing what he said he would do.
“He’s balancing things that need immediate attention, like the economy and Afghanistan, while still moving forward with pieces of his larger agenda,” Finney said.
Obama is still working on promises to change the way Washington operates and to find bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president was pleased with what he’s been able to accomplish so far — and wishes some things had gone better.
“But I don’t think by any means you’ll see this president rest on his laurels,” Gibbs said. “I think in many ways the days ahead are equally important as any of the days in the first 100 in moving our country forward.”
