Obama: no resting on laurels after first 100 days

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:13 PM Posted by Beijing News




Barack Obama marked 100 days as president Wednesday with a trip to the US heartland, claiming his ambitious agenda of "remaking America" had begun to take hold but warning of much more work ahead to pull the nation out of recession.

Since taking office January 20, Obama has battled the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, shifted the US military posture in Iraq and Afghanistan, and shown the world a different face of America as the first African-American US president.

As if that were not enough, he now faces a deadly new challenge in the form of a swine flu outbreak that health authorities warn is close to exploding into a global pandemic.

Against that backdrop, Obama headed to Missouri for a town hall meeting where he put his own perspective on his first 100 days, a traditional milestone for gauging US presidents' debuts.

"We have begun to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and we have begun the work of remaking America," an upbeat Obama told a raucous crowd.

"Now, after 100 days, I'm pleased with the progress we've made, but I'm not satisfied," he added.

"I'm confident in the future, but I'm not content with the present. Not when there are workers that are still out of jobs, families who still can't pay their bills."

Obama's broad agenda during his debut months -- seen as a success by most Americans, according to several recent polls -- is widely seen as one of the fullest plates for any new president in decades.

He has grappled with the country's economic downturn and what Obama described as his administration's "bold and sustained" steps to rein it in.

The president unleashed a huge government intervention in the economy with a historic 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill and now has high-stakes environmental and healthcare reforms on the launch pad.

Abroad, Obama hit the "reset button" on US foreign policy, reaching out to Muslims and vowing to end decades of enmity with foes Cuba and Iran.

He mandated the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp, outlawed torture and set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He also doubled down in Afghanistan and Pakistan and reversed US denial on climate change.

The president said there was far more to do in coming weeks and months.

"The 100th day might be a good time to reflect on where we are, but it's more important to where we're going that we focus on the future. Because we can't rest until our economy is growing and we've built that new foundation of prosperity."

Many of the new policies have not sat well with Republicans, who for the first time in eight years control neither the White House nor either chamber of Congress.

"We don't have a majority. It's very difficult to pass legislation," Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lamented.

Compounding their woes, senior Republican Senator Arlen Specter announced Tuesday that he was defecting to the Democrats, boosting Obama's ability to drive his agenda through the US Congress.

At least 91 infections were confirmed across 10 US states as of Wednesday, and after declaring a public health emergency at the weekend Obama pressed Congress to release 1.5 billion dollars in emergency funding.





Rietschel

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