100 days

The public's opinion of Barack Obama is almost as high as it was 100 days ago, writes The Guardian. However, the real challenges lie ahead.

The Guardian

If there are three phases to any diplomatic conflict — rhetoric, negotiation and settlement — Mr Obama is still only at the stage of rhetorical intention. It remains to be seen how much he will give at the climate change summit in Copenhagen. ... Despite the fact that the collapse of Lehman Brothers contributed to his victory, Mr Obama has been at his weakest tackling the banking crisis. A $789bn stimulus sounds large, but may not be enough to cope with the scale of the crisis in the US. The package has some wasteful measures and stupid giveaways such as government money to buy houses, not just for first-time buyers, but any houses. Mr Obama's lieutenants Tim Geithner and Larry Summers have been too timid with the masters of the universe, handing failed institutions taxpayer dollars instead of nationalising them. The latest idea is to give financiers public money as an inducement to trade toxic assets. That is right: a crisis caused by speculators is now apparently to be solved by speculators. No wonder American voters are angry. …

For all that, Mr Obama stands almost as high in public opinion as he did a hundred days ago. .... The Obama brand has done what it says on the tin and produced a leader of candour and vision. The real challenge of government still lies ahead, but for the moment he is simply the coolest politician on the planet.