April 27, 2009, Greetings from the first 100 days
Ivan Eland, correctly, tells us that the whole "100 days" thing is grossly overrated; I agree. But on with the opera...
Let's just say I'm glad that I missed "the live performance" of this one: low flying jetliners that buzzed within window rattling distance of skyscrapers in lower Manhattan this morning, that were nothing more than a freaking photo op to have Air Force One's picture taken over the Statue of Liberty; the President was not on board, and purported to be not amused. By deciding to err on the side of secrecy, untold numbers of office workers in both lower Manhattan and Jersey City rushed out of their offices into the streets, fearing a reprise of September 11th. Apparently, the geniuses in Washington decided to keep this a secret from, oh, the public, and only told a rather obscure New York City official, who evidently, failed to notify the Mayor, or the police.
Meanwhile, now that Spring break travel (and profit) opportunities are safely over, the World Health Organization now tells us not to travel to Mexico, over concerns about the swine flu outbreak, which threatens to become a pandemic. One would tend to think this is the sort of thing the American government ought to have known about and told Americans about, at least giving Americans a fighting chance to make a choice, before traveling to Mexico and then returning home to their school in Queens with a nasty possible pandemic spreading flu virus. This outbreak would certainly seem to have been around longer than last weekend, when we first found out about it... what gives?
But then... the Obama Administration seems hellbent on keeping lots of things secret (as in 'state secret") even as it preaches "transparency and openness" in others.
Like the rest of the first 100 days (almost 97 of them in hand now)... a mixed bag... a vast improvement over his predecessor because his predecessor was so God-awful... but many areas remain ripe for improvement (such as the abysmal one prisoner released from our tropical gulag). The easiest way for the President to ensure a successful presidency is to look at what his predecessor did... and then do something else. Short of maintaining his bodily functions by such activities as eating, drinking, evacuating and breathing, I can't think of a single area where taking this advice wouldn't apply fruitfully.
Comments
TD,
Didn't you know the Swine Flue Emergency is a radical left plot to gain more control of us common folks? You've got to keep that kind of thing secret.
Posted by michael L at April 28, 2009 9:07 AM
You are the man for slogans. I need a T-shirt printing press. This from you for Obama, to mark his first 100 Days (note: T-shirt only works if predecessor is George W. Bush):
"The easiest way to ensure a successful presidency is to look at what your predecessor did... and then do something else."
You're right. That would work for ALMOST EVERYTHING!
Posted by Andy Worthington at May 1, 2009 6:54 PM