Barack Obama's 100 days

The appraisal of the performance of the US President during his 'first 100 days' in office is another much-hyped gimmick of the American media, and gives little indication of what he might achieve by the time his tenure ends after four years.
Barack Obama has been saddled with problems that might need more than a presidential term to solve, let alone three months! As he himself has candidly admitted, the number of critical issues that appear to be coming to a head all at the same time surprised him. For instance, over two years ago, when he had first thrown his hat into the ring, the economy had not been much of an issue, but by his inauguration it had become the most critical problem that needed to be immediately dealt with.
The President has gone hammer and tongs to tackle an economic crisis as bad as the Great Depression, staking his own future through measures, which many Americans do not support. The end results of his policies, however, will be visible only after a while, as is also true of the new foreign policy initiatives embarked upon by him.
Thus what is visible at this early stage is the general direction he is expected to embark upon, rather than concrete results. He has, of course, taken specific measures on promises made during the campaign, such as extending the health-care system towards a greater reach and lifting the ban on stem-cell research.
Significantly, one of the earliest bits of legislation signed by him was one empowering working women in the US. The measures taken by him in other spheres such as protection of the ecology, in the face of a hostile corporate lobby, would yield fruits years later. During the past three months Obama has merely laid the groundwork, crossing swords with Republican adversaries in order to press forward his agenda.
However, even his worst critic admits that the new US President, by merely getting elected, has rekindled hope amongst Americans. Despite some opposition to his policies, he has been able to retain his charismatic popularity, with the latest CNN poll indicating a 63 per cent approval rating.