Tempest Fugit (Or Does It); 50 Days and Counting!

You knew it had to happen. Some time ago, I mentioned that after mere days had elapsed, there had emerged a preoccupation with all things Obama; so consuming that various media outlets were engaging in a full-scale assault on providing the definitive reckoning of the first 100 Days of the Obama Presidency. Well, yesterday was the half-way mark to that signal occasion and as you might imagine, there was a veritable explosion of coverage by the collective media on “Obama’s First 50 Days.”

The network giants, ABC, and CBS, cable news mavens, CNBC, and CNN, print news heavyweights, The Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today, were joined by the BBC, AOL, and a host of bloggers…just to name a few. The number of Google entries on the subject is dwarfed only by the colossal dimensions of the current economic meltdown; by 9:30 p.m. last night, the number was 29 million.

There is no denying, it has been quite a ride. Economic indicators have mostly settled into an erratic, and downward spiraling course, partisan grousing, and more important voting, have persisted, Democrats, who control the Senate and the House, as well as the Presidency, have found no compelling reason to close ranks, and Republicans have warmed to the task of performing the duties of a loyal opposition.

A number of the stories focused on the 18% decline by the Dow during the past 50 days. At least one, CBS News EconWatch, injected the 32% decline since Election Day into the discourse. Some theorized the President has lost his focus. Others embraced the Goldilocks’ philosophy. Proponents of this view assert President Obama is either too hot; scaring the nation with his stinging rhetoric about how severe the myriad problems of the economy are, or claim he’s too cold; trying to do too many things at once and failing to target resolving our economic malaise with single-minded purposefulness and vigor.

In the same CBS News story cited above, billionaire Warren Buffett, known in some circles as the Oracle of Omaha, is quoted in a CNBC interview as saying, “The only authoritative voice in the United States who says, 'This is what we're going to do, this is what we're not going to do,' and very specifically, is the president of the United States."

Meanwhile, in a classic case of the show must go on, yesterday, the Senate passed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill to fund the U.S. government for the remainder of the budget year, through September 30, 2009. The vote to end debate was 62-35. Nevada Senator Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leaderr, postponed the vote last week because he was not sure he had the 60 votes necessary to prevent a filibuster.

Immediately after the Senate voted to pass the bill, Arizona Senator John McCain, labeled the vote “business as usual.” The bill included more than 8,000 congressional earmarks, totaling nearly $8 billion. Senator McCain, who ran against then Senator Obama for president, added, "If the president were serious about his pledge for change, he would veto this bill. He won't."

In the face of stiff criticism about the earmarks, the Obama administration said the bill was a holdover from the previous administration. The group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, says there were only five Senators (out of ninety-seven) who requested no earmarks in the bill, suggesting, despite the furor, this is actually one of the few bipartisan measures in Congress today. Sadly, it is on the wrong side of the ledger. The five Senators with no earmark requests included 3 Republicans, Senators Tom Coburn, Oklahoma, Jim DeMint, South Carolina, John McCain, Arizona, and two Democrats, Russ Feingold, Wisconsin, and Claire McCaskill, Missouri. If your favorite Senators were not on that list, they requested earmarks, either solo, or jointly.

White House Spokesman, Robert Gibbs, revealed the president is planning to unveil new guidelines to reduce the number of earmarks that find their way into future appropriations bills. Gibbs suggested the new guidelines carry an implied threat the president may veto future bills that do not meet his objectives for reducing earmarks.

Of course, even though economic issues and legislation have dominated the first 6½ weeks of the Obama Presidency, there were other issues of note. The president has had major challenges filling Cabinet level and other high profile positions. A PBS news story reported 71 people have been nominated or named for various positions; only 41 have been nominated, and only 28 confirmed.
This is a problem, of course, but a problem that must be put into context. Much of the slowdown has occurred as a result of the extensive vetting process the administration has been using. In retrospect many people thought had Governor Sarah Palin been subjected to a more rigorous vetting process, the Republicans may have run a more effective campaign last fall. The Obama administration appears to be saying, “better to vet than regret.”

I hasten to add, while President Obama has endured an intensely scrutinized First 50 Days, First Lady Michelle had on own stories yesterday. Mrs. Obama has engendered an energized following, somewhat due to the other First…that she is the first black First Lady. But her appeal goes much deeper. She radiates a charisma that underscores a certain comfort in her own skin. Moreover, her sense of style has kept media and citizens alike, abuzz. One telling example of her mega je ne sais quoi is her appearance on the cover of the April Issue of O, the Oprah Winfrey Magazine. While she will be sharing the cover with Oprah, Mrs. Obama’s appearance will mark the first by anyone other than Oprah in the ten year history of the magazine. That’s juice! No word yet on FFD (First Fifty Days) stories for Natasha and Malia; but who knows?

What I know is, by most accounts, the 50 days since January 20th flew by. But when I think of it in terms of all the political machinations packed into that span, including those of Rod Blagojevich, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Roland Burris, Judd
Gregg, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson, Tim Geithner, and The New York Post, just to name 10, not necessarily the Top 10, just 10, I feel as though it has been an excruciatingly long and arduous period. Time flies; or does it? It is clear to me now; 50 days (and counting) can be a long time.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/03/09/business/econwatch/entry4854709.shtml

http://blogs.usatoday.com/community/2009/03/50-first-days-f.html

http://news.aol.com/main/obama-presidency/article/obamas-first-50-days/376700

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/obamas-first-50-days-in-t_n_173195.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/gibbs-grades-obamas-first_n_173633.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10536538.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/President44/story?id=7042171&page=1

http://somehavehats.typepad.com/some_have_hats/2009/03/obamas-first-50-days.html

http://cayankee.blogs.com/cayankee/2009/03/obamas-first-50-days-dow-down-32.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29614168

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/10/obamas-first-50-days/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.schaller10mar10,0,3327689.column

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7933966.stm

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/10/earlyshow/main4855949.shtml

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/03/first_lady_michelle_obamas_fir.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june09/vacancies_03-09.html