President/Administration

Working that 'Bill Ayers' angle seems to be an obsession for whoever's putting headlines together for the Chicago Sun-Times. In this one, what we have is an article from the AP about the routine activities of Obama as POTUS during Memorial Day. Ayers' only appearance is completely minor and indirect as one of 60 signers of a petition that in the article's own words is "ignored" by the White House.

Not so much a comment on Obama's First 100 Days as a comment on the accuracy of observations on First 100 Days in general...

From the column 'Report from Washington' by Walter Trohan, Chicago Tribune (4/30/1969):

The first hundred days of Richard Milhous Nixon find him standing taller in the eyes of his countrymen and looming larger on the world horizon than most observers, and even many of his admirers, had expected....

The dark ages are over...

Transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: Dan from CNN.

DAN LOTHIAN (CNN): During the campaign you were criticized by some within your own party for perhaps not being able to be tough on foreign policy matters. Now you’ve had this friendly interaction with Mr. Chavez. Are you concerned at all about how this might be perceived back in the U.S. as perhaps being soft? Already one senator is calling this friendly interaction irresponsible. And as a quick follow-up, if I may, when you got the book from Mr. Chavez, what did you really think? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I think it was a nice gesture to give me a book; I’m a reader. And you’re right, we had this debate throughout the campaign, and the whole notion was, is that somehow if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue with governments that had previously been hostile to us, that that somehow would be a sign of weakness. The American people didn’t buy it. And there’s a good reason the American people didn’t buy it — because it doesn’t make sense.

[Courtesy of the Orange Satan]

Kevin Mattson on the Carter 'malaise speech':

"You might have heard that the speech was a disaster.... But in fact, the speech worked. It prompted an overwhelmingly favorable response....

Funny, that's not my memory of it. In that blazer and everything, he just seemed like a rather ineffective guy caught up in a job he couldn't handle.

Did this guy see the same press conference I saw?

There were no smiles on Tuesday night, no memorable moments, no attempt by the president to capture the sense of drama or anticipation that has surrounded prime-time news conferences by prior White House occupants.

Courtesy of Whitehouse.gov:

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market....

Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here....

Because of this guy!

Warm news on an otherwise chilly day from Steve Benen:

It's way too early to know who might replace Daschle at HHS, but I've received quite a few emails about Howard Dean's availability.

Wailin Wong on her online experience of the Inauguration:

I learned, laughed and rolled my eyes along with millions of other people watching from their cubicles, homes, schools and local watering holes. There were greetings from people in Italy, Canada, Venezuela, France and the Netherlands -- all watching and discussing the same event. Without the Web I couldn't have gotten this global sense of connection and celebration.

TOP: Barely visible on the far-off 'Jumbotron' -- notice our cheap seats -- is the face of President Obama giving his inaugural address. BOTTOM: Later in the day, the President and Mrs. Obama appeared at the Inaugural Ball.