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by Mark Silva
A lot of narrative and analysis is devoted this weekend to the First 100 Days of President Barack Obama, a milestone that the president will reach Wednesday -- with his own evening news conference at the White House and a "town hall'' talk in Missouri.
But sometimes the calendar speaks most eloquently about time passing, and the Associated Press has compiled such an account of the president's first few months.
Remember the day that Obama said he wasn't interested in "screwing up again?'' -- during the Tom Daschle back-taxes Cabinet-appointment-withdrawal saga? It's been a long three months.
The video above will take you back a while.
So will a look at key events during the first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency:
Jan. 20: Obama is sworn in as president, promising "a new era of responsibility.'' Read on:
Jan. 22: Obama orders the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and declares that the United States will not engage in torture.
Jan 23: Obama lifts ban on federal funding for international organizations that perform or provide information on abortions.
Jan. 27: Obama gives first formal television interview as president to Arab television station, telling Muslims, "Americans are not your enemy."
Jan. 29: Obama signs first bill into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, making it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination.
Feb. 3: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., withdraws as Obama's nominee for secretary of health and human services.
Feb. 9: Obama holds first prime-time news conference, calling on Congress to enact his economic stimulus plan.
Feb. 12: Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., withdraws as Obama's nominee for secretary of commerce.
Feb. 13: Congress completes action on a $787 billion economic stimulus package of tax cuts and new spending, intended to jolt the country out of the worst recession in 50 years.
Feb. 17: Obama signs the stimulus measure into law.
Feb. 19: Obama makes his first visit to a foreign country as president, meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a seven-hour visit to Ottawa.
Feb. 22: Obama hosts governors in his first formal dinner at the White House.
Feb. 23: Obama holds a fiscal responsibility summit at the White House, signaling his intention to tackle health care, the budget and Social Security.
Feb. 24: Obama addresses a joint session of Congress for the first time, focusing on economic issues.
Feb. 26: Obama unveils a $3.6 trillion federal budget for 2010 and estimates that the federal deficit for 2009 will balloon to $1.75 trillion.
Feb. 27: Obama announces withdrawal of all American combat forces from Iraq by August 2010, but says the U.S. will leave tens of thousand support troops behind.
March 5: Obama hosts daylong White House summit on health care.
March 9: Obama reverses President George W. Bush's ban on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, and declares that all federal scientific research will be walled off from political influences.
March 11: Obama signs a $410 billion spending bill to keep the government running for the rest of the 2009 budget year. He calls the measure "imperfect" because it includes money for special projects set aside by members of Congress, a practice he pledged to end during the 2008 campaign.
March 16: Obama declares he will stop insurer American International Group Inc. from paying out millions in executive bonuses after receiving billions in federal bailout funds.
March 19: Obama becomes the first sitting president to appear on the "Tonight" show.
March 20: Obama releases video message to people of Iran in celebration of Nowruz, the Persian new year and the first day of spring.
March 26: Obama holds "Open for Questions", the first virtual town hall meeting at the White House.
March 27: Obama announces comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the deployment of 4,000 additional military trainers to Afghanistan.
March 30: Obama asserted unprecedented government control over the auto industry, rejecting turnaround plans by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, and engineering the ouster of GM's chief executive, Rick Wagoner.
March 31: Obama travels to London, the first stop on an eight-day, six country tour of Europe and the Middle East.
April 1: Obama meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and announces start of negotiations on new strategic arms-control treaty.
April 1: Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have a private audience with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
April 2: Obama attends the Group of 20 economic summit in London, where leaders agree to bail out developing countries, stimulate world trade and regulate financial firms more stringently.
April 3: Obama speaks and takes questions from crowd of mostly French and German citizens at a Town Hall meeting in Strasbourg, France.
April 4: Obama attends NATO summit in Strasbourg but gets commitment from allies to send up to 5,000 more military trainers and police to Afghanistan.
April 5: Obama launches an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them during a speech in Prague "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War."
April 6: Obama speaks to Turkey's parliament, declaring that "the United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam."
April 7: Obama pays a surprise visit to Iraq, meeting with U.S. troops and Iraqi leaders.
April 9: Obama sends a request to Congress for $83.4 billion for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
April 10: Obama says the economy is showing "glimmers of hope" after meeting with top economic officials.
April 12: Obama authorizes a military rescue of an American sea captain taken hostage by pirates in the waters off Somalia. The rescue results in the deaths of three pirates and the capture of the fourth, and frees Capt. Richard Phillips.
April 13: The administration announces that Cuban-Americans will be permitted to make unlimited transfers of money and visits to relatives in Cuba. The decision also clears away most regulations that had stopped American companies from bringing high-tech services and information to Cuba.
April 14: The Obamas introduce their new puppy, Bo, in a photo session on the White House lawn.
April 16: Obama meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on his first trip to Mexico and Latin America. The leaders agree to cooperate on combating drug violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.
April 17: Obama releases memos from Bush administration authorizing harsh interrogation techniques but says no CIA employees who followed the memos will be prosecuted.
April 17: Obama travels to Trinidad and Tobago for the 34-nation Summit of the Americas and declares that he "seeks a new beginning with Cuba."
April 18: At the summit, Obama shakes hands with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, the leftist, anti-American leader who had called Bush a devil.
April 19: Obama calls on Cuba to release political prisoners as a way to improve relations with the U.S.
April 20: Obama holds the first formal Cabinet meeting of his administration, ordering department heads to slice spending by $100 million, a tiny fraction of the $3.6 trillion federal budget he proposed a month earlier.
April 21: Obama leaves the door open for prosecution of federal lawyers who wrote harsh interrogation memos during Bush administration and says if there's an investigation, it should be done by an independent commission.
April 22: Obama makes his first visit as president to Iowa, the state where his 2008 Democratic caucus victory launched him toward the presidency.
April 23: Obama tells congressional leaders he will not support creation of an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration's harsh interrogation techniques.
April 24: Obama promotes his idea for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct government loans to young people. He also declines to brand the early 20th century massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey a "genocide," breaking a campaign promise.
April 25: Obama uses his radio address to announce a plan for federal workers to propose ways to improve their agencies' and departments' budgets.
Comments
Dear Diary,
Daddy,
You may have lost us food money rolling the dice in some dimly lit back alley, but I just spake, fooled em' all and got em' for over One Trillion $$$ infront of their own eyes...and they still believe in me...
Gottcha Dad!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | April 26, 2009 12:09 AM
The swine flu outbreak needs immediate forensic scientific investigation, given Rumsfeld's investments in tamiflue, etc..
Posted by: indict all former admin members | April 26, 2009 8:35 AM
It will be announced that on April 28th at 12:01 PM (Eastern time) America will stop and remain in awe of the 100th day in office for Obama. MSM will begin featuring 8 glorious hours recapping the magnanimous achievements of the first 100 days including comments (chosen by the media, of course) from world leaders, members of Congress, Governors, state and local leaders, as well as just plain folks, prior to his prime-time address to the nation (disguised as a news conference). Americans will be encouraged to get in touch with the inner "tingling" for the new Prez. in order to relish in the celebration.
Posted by: bubba Porter | April 26, 2009 9:30 AM
Some distant discordant notes, rumble of thunder a ways off:
Read Frank Rich's column today.
And Edsall's.
The Torture Judge is still sitting in California, passing judgment on others.
The bonuses are still being paid to the Masters of Disaster on Wall Street.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were "briefed" and "signed off" on torture, so we must not inquire further.
The Gang of Four has worked very, very well, according to Hoeckstra.
Syria bombings by Israel went well, according to him.
Car Czar seems more like another Dennis Levine, buying and selling "access" to NY State Employees' Pension Fund.
Little tremors here and there.
Best beware.
Posted by: ornery | April 26, 2009 10:16 AM
* * * * *
"The Torture Judge is still sitting in California, passing judgment on others."
* * * * *
Posted by: ornery | April 26, 2009 10:16 AM
.
To whom are you referring? I thought the "torture judge" was Judge Traeger in the Eastern District of New York. He's the one who threw out the case against the CIA for kidnapping Maher Arar and taking him to Syria where he was tortured. What does California have to do with this?
Posted by: John W. | April 26, 2009 7:25 PM
I Cannot Dance With You Now - Perhaps Later, but now now!
January 21, 2009
I Cannot Dance With You – Not yet Anyway
History, as it goes, is being made. History is always in the making. The United States has elected its first “black” president. Allow for me to preface that which I am about to say with having said, I’ve been ready to vote for a black president for as many as ten years now.
I hope to be able to dance with “you” one day. For now, I will not. Why? Because, black democrats are vicious – they feed on people of their own race simply because they belong to a party other than their own.
I’ve watched as emaciated wolves sought to denigrate J.C. Watts. I’ve watched as the selfsame have attempted to patronize the honorable Alan Keyes. Once you’ve learned to rejoice with prominent black citizens, regardless of their party affiliation, thereby allowing for a greater measure of success “you” will have begun to fill the shoes of the late Martin Luther King Junior but until then you’ve exemplified those who lack the Spirit of the Lord.
Furthermore, America, for all of her ‘reverends’ wouldn’t think of telling the man that won’t work, he should not eat. Grow up and take a lesson from Mexicans. The man that won’t provide for his own is worse than an infidel – unbeliever. Study the Good Book instead of simply praising “Jesus” and then passing out during your Sunday charades.
If God had a ticket, it would certainly consist of Alan Keyes and JC Watts. God bless: America, Alan Keyes, JC Watts, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Obama – a likeable guy. (Our President) www.moveup.gq.nu
Posted by: wayne salas | April 26, 2009 11:06 PM
Torture Memo Judge, perhaps I should say.
Judge Bybee.
Read the Wansee Protocol and compare it to Bybee's torture memos and you'll find it hard to believe they were not written by the same hand.
Posted by: ornery | April 26, 2009 11:20 PM
Mr. President!, one question please, "When is the U.S. government going to file for bankruptcy?".
Posted by: Paul | April 27, 2009 9:11 AM
I guess “velocity is a virtue” when you’re trying to ram a radical agenda down the throats of a economically shell-shocked populace before they wake-up to what you’re doing to the country. And what Obama is doing is dismantling everything that made America great… in the name of his wacked-out Marxist-professor mentors.
Seriously, only a fool would cheer programs with no historical precedent of success, i.e. astronomical pork-barrel spending in the name of “stimulus” while borrowing ALL of the money from communist China, a Jimmy Carter-esque pacifist foreign policy steeped in appeasement, embracing scum like Hugo Chavez while insulting traditional allies… and Obama and Co. display a pattern of dishonesty that is troubling, to say the least.
Check back with us in a year- when people start to come out of the ether after a couple international embarrassments and 10% inflation from the reckless print-money spending spree that The One if foisting on us.
In three years, people will wince at the very mention of the name "Obama"- and the GOP could win 40 states running Gilbert Gottfried.
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Reaganite Republican Resistance | April 27, 2009 2:25 PM