US Wild About Obama's 100 Days

Depending who you ask, Obama is 'elusive,' 'arrogant,' or 'preening'

(NEWSER) - Whoever the man in the Oval Office really is, he's not a traditional liberal, writes Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Rather than aiming to bolster government programs, President Obama "seems to see government as the way to prompt the changes he wants in the economy or society." But not all Republican writers are as ambivalent: More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s first 100 days have been momentous, to say the least. Here’s what his fans are saying:

• Obama is intent on remaking American culture, ending not just the post-Reagan era but the entire “quick-fix, sugar-rush, attention-deficit society of the postmodern age,” writes Joe Klein of Time. “Whether you agree with him or not, his is as serious and challenging a presidency as we have had in quite some time.”

Buckley outlines the platitudes of the Obama era

(NEWSER) - Today marks the 100th day of Barack Obama's presidency, an occasion acknowledged by a flood of articles assessing the meaning of a presidency after three measly months, writes Christopher Buckley in the Financial Times. The American satirist offers a breakdown of the most predictable interpretations.

• Refreshing change: Obama's brought a "new tone" to Washington, Michelle and the kids are so wonderful, and how 'bout that vegetable garden?
• A good start, but much remains to be done: Understandable, considering Obama faces a "historic challenge."

A look at approval ratings, community-by-community

(NEWSER) - After 100 days, President Obama is more divisive, more popular with moderates, and bigger with his base than George W. Bush was at this point—depending on where you look, the Christian Science Monitor finds in a look at 11 community types. Overall, Obama’s 63% Pew approval rating beats Bush’s—but unlike Obama, Dubya was rated at least 59% in all communities studied. More»

(NEWSER) - With decisions that some presidents don’t make in 4 years packed into his first 100 days, what President Obama’s advisers deride as a “Hallmark holiday” presents a legitimate occasion for a report card, and for a Politico team to catch up with White House insiders. “I don’t want to go through accomplishments, because I feel like I’m just walking around with a punch card,” Rahm Emanuel says. More»