Obama's Hundred Days

April 29 isn't a date that would normally stand out on the calendar. This year it falls on a Wednesday, almost but not quite marking the end of the month. We suspect that most years, April 29 would slip by without most of us taking any particular notice of it.

But this year, perhaps for the only time ever, April 29 will be received with great fanfare. This year, April 29 will have its day in the sun, temporarily rivaling more famous dates like July 4 or October 31. Why? Because this April 29 is the 100th day of Barack Obama's presidency. It marks the end of Obama's Hundred Days, CNN plans hours upon hours of special marathon coverage, modeled after its Election Day mediapalooza. No doubt every columnist at every newspaper in the country (or those that haven't gone out of business yet, anyway) will use the occasion to opine on the meaning of it all. Hundred Days' report cards will be issued; Obama's performance will be weighed against our expectations of him.

So why do we attach so much importance to the president's First Hundred Days? (So much importance that we capitalize First Hundred Days!) Mainly it's Franklin Roosevelt's fault. One of the most influential and important presidents in US history, Roosevelt used the first hundred days of his presidency to push a staggering package of legislation through Congress – fifteen separate bills that together formed the basis of the New Deal, revolutionizing modern American society. After passing those fifteen bills, Congress adjourned on June 16, 1933 – exactly 100 days after it began. Ever since, the beginning of every president's term has been judged against FDR's standard. And just about every president has failed to stack up.

But is that standard really fair? Roosevelt took office at the height of the Great Depression; of all American presidents, only Lincoln entered the White House facing a graver crisis. The depth of the crisis confronting the country in 1933 gave Roosevelt a tremendous mandate; a battered Congress was prone to give him anything and everything he wanted. Of course, Obama too entered the presidency at a moment of great crisis, promising great change. But we're still not facing a situation nearly as dire as the or Civil War; politics continues to operate more or less as normal, with congresspeople of both parties more than willing to obstruct Obama's objectives. Still, Obama has managed to pass a significant chunk of his agenda; only time will tell whether it pays dividends for the United States. One hundred days is surely too soon to judge.