The dust of the first 100 days of President Obama’s historic election to office settled as he addressed the nation in a news conference Wednesday.
‘We’re off to a good start, but it’s just a start. I’m proud of what we achieved, but I’m not content. I’m pleased with our progress, but I’m not satisfied,’ Obama said in the news conference.
These first 100 days have marked a chapter in Obama’s presidency full of landmark decisions on the national and global economic crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, CIA interrogation methods and the future of stem-cell research.’
During the 100 days, Obama reversed policies set in place by George W. Bush’s administration.’
‘He is doing a good job. There is no doubt he is taking a different route in his journey of presidency, which is being seen a lot more on TV and being more involved with the people, but in all aspects I think he has done very well so far with what he has been given,’ economics junior Beau Davis said.’
‘People need to just remember that the job he has is not the easiest job for anyone to take over, especially in the times the world is going through right now.’
During his first month in the White House, Obama sought congressional approval for a $787 billion stimulus plan, which Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said could potentially save or create 3.5 million jobs, boost consumer spending and stimulate important parts of the economy, such as energy and healthcare.
‘If (businesses) don’t succeed, we expect them to go bankrupt, pull out and have someone else take their place.’ That’s how the marketplace works, but because it affects so many people and it’s all interrelated, it’s important that the government intervene,’ electrical engineering sophomore Aditi Sinha said.
The stimulus plan was approved with the support of three moderate Republicans.’
There was concern the Republicans would stage a filibuster, in which the Senate’s business would be delayed until the filibuster had ended by a majority of votes or was withdrawn.’
Even without a 60-seat majority to prevent filibuster, Obama has affected immediate change to Washington policies.’
He set a date to close the Guantanomo Bay detention center by 2010, and he has released the secret interrogation techniques the Bush administration used to obtain information from suspected terrorists, some of which include sleep deprivation, slapping, painful body positions, and water boarding.’
‘Water boarding violates our ideals and our values. I do believe it is torture. I don’t think that’s just my opinion. That’s the opinion of many who’ve examined the topic and that’s why I put an end to the practices,’ Obama said.
By classifying torture as a crime for which torturers should be prosecuted, Obama faces criticism from the United Nations for not prosecuting the CIA personnel who carried out the acts and former Vice President Dick Cheney, who authorized such techniques and said the techniques were successful and saving American lives.
‘There are much more efficient ways of getting information out of someone rather than making them feel like they are drowning. To me, it seems very barbaric and outdated,’ Davis said.’
Obama also lifted the ban placed on stem-cell research by Bush, who twice vetoed any expansion of government stem-cell research funding in 2006 and 2007. Obama broke away from that rationale, allowing for more funding and discarded embryos from fertility clinics to be used in research.
So far, Americans like what they see from President Obama, giving him an overall rating of 64 percent according to a poll on CNN, which gives him the highest rating of all recent Presidents since Ronald Reagan, whose approval was as high as at 67 percent. Only time will tell what this already historic president will do in the future.
‘You can expect an unrelenting, unyielding effort from this administration. To strengthen our prosperity and our security in the second 100 days and third 100 days and all the days after that,’ Obama said.
Additional reporting by Sylvia Baston, Jasmine Harrison and Victoria Simpson.
