The day before President Obama’s much-anticipated hundredth day in office was dominated by news that a senior Republican senator was switching parties, the swine flu epidemic was growing and the Senate had finally confirmed the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
But today the White House will try to recapture the narrative of the presidential rite of passage that is the 100-day milestone, celebrated since Franklin Roosevelt. Obama will host the third prime-time news conference of his administration at 5 p.m.
In his first 99 days, Obama has signed six major bills, ordered the death of Somali pirates and fired the head of General Motors while forcing a merger upon Chrysler. His supporters say circumstances have sometimes obstructed his agenda or the nation’s attention, but overall, the president is beginning to deliver changes he promised during his two-year campaign.
University student Daniel Ronan, a member of College Democrats and a former Obama for America organizer in Indiana and Pennsylvania during the general election, said “a lot of what needs to be done is getting done” though perhaps not as fast as he would like. A global economic crisis is a big problem, Ronan said.
“I think that’s the big priority right now that’s maybe put some things on hold,” he said. Still, he counts the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill Obama signed into law, which aims to ensure that women will earn salaries equal to their male counterparts, as an early success. Ronan also said he was excited about Obama’s push for high-speed rail, for which funding was included in the stimulus bill and Obama’s budget blueprint.
“We’re on the right track, which is a really good change from the past 8 years,” he said.
Co-chairman of the Oregon Federation of College Republicans Ross Harke disagreed. While he supports high-speed rail and equal pay for women, Harke said he dislikes how much money Obama has spent.
“I don’t like how a lot of the money is being spent on honeybee research, or making pigs smell better,” Harke said. “I don’t see how that’s economic stimulus.”
Harke also said he does not support the Employee Free Choice Act, labeled “card check” by its detractors, which would make it easier for unions to organize. The bill was presumed dead after Sen. Arlen Specter said he would support a filibuster against it earlier this year, and garnered attention again when he reaffirmed that position Tuesday.
“My mom is in a union, and from what I’ve heard about it, I think it would take power away from employees and give it to the union,” Harke said.
Marcus Widenor, an associate professor at the Labor Education and Research Center at the University, said the labor community has a generally positive view of Obama thus far, but that view could change if the president fails to actively promote the bill. “Obama has been very positive about (the Employee Free Choice Act). He has not taken an out-front role on it. I guess the question is if he will get out front and expend some political capital on this,” he said.
Still, many in the labor community are skeptical that “too many sacrifices are being asked of workers and not being asked of Wall Street,” Widenor said.
Ronan expressed hope about the time remaining for Obama to deliver many promises. “We’ve got another what, seven years to go here? Hopefully seven,” he said. “I would expect that we get comprehensive health care reform in his first term.”
[email protected]