What about the Next 100?
Obama in Action - Part VIII: The 100th Day
An American Presidency Project Exclusive Analysis
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| In this series, APP compares Obama to other modern presidents who assumed the office following an administration of the other party. So the comparison group includes FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and G.W. Bush. |
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by John T. Woolley and
Gerhard Peters
SANTA BARBARA - Wednesday April 29 marked President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office. The day was marked by a convulsion of media analysis of the President’s achievements to date far greater than that for Bush or Clinton.
Early-Term Risks
Presidential legacies are rarely determined by events in the first 100 days, but many presidencies have struggled to recover from stumbles in the early months. John F. Kennedy authorized the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Jimmy Carter fumbled his attempt to cut public works spending. Bill Clinton was handcuffed by a fight over gays in the military.
Other presidencies have been boosted by unforeseen events. The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan produced a strong sympathetic reaction across the country. His job approval rating remained high through the passage of his tax cut package in August 1981.
The FDR Standard
In the first 100 days, presidents seek to advance a clear, focused, and distinctive agenda. They hope to avoid major stumbles, to sustain popular support; to enjoy strong partisan majorities in Congress. They need good luck with unanticipated events.
All presidents are compared to FDR who, by day 110, had signed more than a dozen major legislative initiatives.
For FDR’s successors, the first 100 days has rarely been long enough to produce sweeping legislative change across a broad spectrum of policy areas, In 1965, Lyndon Johnson, had secured one of the greatest electoral landslides in history. He enjoyed substantially greater Democratic majorities in Congress than Barack Obama. Of the many major legislative enactments of the 89th Congress, only two passed in the first 100 days.
Particularly in times of crisis, the American people expect much of new presidents. Again the FDR comparison seems relevant, as does Ronald Reagan. After nearly four years of ineffective Republican responses to the depression, FDR needed to reassure the country that the government was willing and able to try to grapple with the problems facing the country.
Roosevelt responded mainly with legislative action, and he was aided by large and supportive majorities in Congress. In 1933, there were few powerful interest groups already mobilized in opposition. By contrast, Obama did not inherit an extended record of governmental passivity. Also unlike FDR, opposing interest groups were mobilizing actively before Obama took the oath of office. On virtually every major issue, Obama faces opposition from large political networks already in place.
Obama’s Repudiation of the Past
For the most part, Obama has passed his initial tests with good marks. He has been successful in repudiating the Reagan/Bush regime in visible ways that have reassured his supporters. He has embraced the challenges of national health insurance, climate change, flattening the income distribution, and reform of financial institutions. Obama articulated high standards for transparency and insulation from special interests, so high that his team will from time to time be vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy. All of these involve, to substantial degree, venturing into uncharted territory and thus pose risks.......
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