PRESIDENT Barack Obama marked his symbolic 100th day in office yesterday, telling an audience in Missouri: "I'm pleased with the progress we've made, but I'm not satisfied."
"I'm confident in the future, but I'm not content with the present," he said.
While pointing to the artificiality of the 100-day mark, the White House nevertheless staged high-profile, high-visibility events in Missouri and Washington to promote
the president's accomplishments.
"We're playing along with the game," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs joked. He told reporters the media had created a wave over 100 days, and "we'll try to surf it a little bit".
In office just three months, the Democrat enters the next phase of his new presidency with a high job-approval rating and political capital from his history-making election last autumn.
Mr Obama used the 100-day anniversary to travel to Missouri to press his case. "We have begun to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, and we've begun the work of remaking America," Mr Obama proclaimed.
But he acknowledged, "We've got a lot of work to do, because on our first day in office we found challenges of unprecedented size and scope."
Mr Obama countered critics who said he was taking on too much, as he worked to turn around the recession while revamping energy, education and health care in the United States.
"The changes that we've made are the changes we promised," Mr Obama said. "We're doing what we said we'd do."
The president promised to fight for ordinary Americans, saying: "My campaign was possible because the American people wanted change. I ran for president because I wanted to carry those voices, your voices, with me to Washington. So I want everybody to understand you're who I'm working for every single day.
"I've heard your stories. I know you sent me to Washington because you believed in the promise of a better day. And I don't want to let you down."
Mr Obama took office on 20 January as the first black US president, raising hopes around the world for a new era after the universally unpopular presidency of George Bush.
In the first 100 days, he has secured a massive economic stimulus package that will funnel billions into such priorities as health care and renewable energy, and announced plans to revamp the ailing financial system. He has presented plans to withdraw most US troops in Iraq and boost them in Afghanistan.
He has pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and prohibit the torture of detainees, though he has been wary of investigating past abuses.
Mr Obama reached the landmark with strong public backing. An opinion poll found that 64 per cent of Americans approve of his performance and 48 per cent believe the country is headed in the right direction.
The "right direction" number is up 8 points since February and 31 points since October, the month before Mr Obama's election.
But problems may be lurking behind that optimism. Ninety per cent of Americans consider the economy an important issue and 65 per cent said it was difficult for them and their families to get ahead.
Giving a boost to Mr Obama's domestic agenda was the decision this week by Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter to leave the Republican Party and join the Democrats.
The move may put Obama's party within reach of a 60-seat majority in the Senate, potentially making it easier to push through his agenda on issues such as health care.
The full article contains 593 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
