THE FIRST 100 DAYS -- Hundred, Shmundred
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By Alan Colmes FOX News Radio and Television/Editor, "Liberaland"
The right-wing nut machine can't say enough bad things about President Obama. Over at Hot Air (a very accurate name, considering some of what I read there), Michelle Malkin has "100 days of reckless photo-op hubris." She wants to define the Obama presidency by the Air Force One photo-op fiasco, as though that's emblematic of this presidency.
Then, some blowhard named "Legal Insurrection" writes, "Relax, The Dems Will Screw Up." That's because the only hope the right has of regaining power is a failed Obama presidency. It wasn't that long ago when Democrats were accused by Republicansof talking down the economy for the sake of gaining power. How interesting turnabout is. At conservative Pajamas Media they blare: "100 Days In: Is Obama Blowing It?" You'd think, reading this, that Obama is step-by-step dismantling the United States, in spite of the fact that the 100 day mark has the president receiving a 64% approval rating by the AP, a 63% approval rating by Pew, with 73% having a favorable view of the chief executive, and a 62% approval in aFOX News poll.
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And the editorially conservative New York Post (owned by the same company that pays my salary and one, thankfully, that believes in free speech) decided to honor the occasion by matching 100 days to "100 mistakes". You know, important items, like #6: He's the "teleprompter president". Anybody remember Ronald Reagan? He had both a teleprompter and an adoring wife whispering in his ear when necessary. Offense number 13: Obama didn't leave the room during a speech by Daniel Ortega. Horrifying!
Even Michelle Obama has to endure criticism, and even from the liberal Huffington Post, where former US Weekly chief Bonnie Fuller gives her generally high grades, except for a "C" for waiting too long to wear the clothing of an African American designer. Are they now going to grade the kids? Will the dog be given 100 days to be house-trained?
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Let's face it, 100 days is an artificial marker. It's a Hallmark date, created out of whole cloth, much like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day. JFK said 1,000 days was a more accurate barometer, and Obama agrees. Sadly, 1,000 days is all we had of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy presidency. Hopefully, our new president will have much more time than that; and, hopefully, a more accurate reading after a more reasonable amount of time will wash away some of the cynicism which his detractors are presently using as oxygen. But I'm not holding my breath.