100+ Days Down and You are Not Disappointing!

It has been a while since I have written a political post. Without the daily fervor, or maybe just news cycle jamming the election down our throats, I have been a political junkie in mourning.

As I was standing at the Inauguration back in January trying to remember if I had toes, I said a silent prayer, "Please, please don't mess this up." A better prayer if I could have felt my extremities, would have been, "President Obama, I have supported you and will support you, but don't miss this chance in a lifetime to make real, lasting difference in the lives of Americans."
President Obama you have not disappointed!

In the hallmark first 100 days Obama helped push: gender pay equity, SCHIP, a monstrous stimulus bill that echoes help not seen since the New Deal, a plan to curb foreclosures, funding for more charter schools through block grants, environmental regulation, closing GITMO, reproductive rights internationally, a timetable for ending war in Iraq, expose on the elusive torture issue, a start to a real and meaningful discussion about healthcare, and yesterday a Supreme Court nominee worthy of any that have come before her.

I think that Obama's success is in part to picking the right senior management and successfully selling Congress and the American public that his brand of crisis leadership is working. Obama is making good on his pledge to navigate in a new direction. Obviously this wouldn't be as easily accomplished without a majority in Congress but I think it is more than just having the numbers on your side. Look at past Presidents in the same position that despite the numbers faced political gridlock and left Washington empty handed.

Surely Obama's critics will relish when the inevitable happens to lessen his polling. It is usually some incident abroad mid or second term that causes even the most idealist of souls to trade a packed domestic agenda for foreign priorities.

As Obama heads into the middle of a rough first year, he has something substantial to build on. He continues to have my support as well as my Obama corner in my classroom. Ok California and any state with DOMA legislation on the books, next stop is the Federal Supreme Court to once and for all determine the status of gay marriage.