CNN was grading Obama's 2nd 100 days Thursday night and plan to do another grading in November of his 300th day in office. None of which they did during the presidency of George W Bush.
Most of the guests mentioned that they felt Obama was trying to "do too much" and it was hurting his polling with the American people. The "honeymoon is over" they said.
What choice did he have folks? Just as Gloria Borger implied last night, Barack Obama walked into an agenda already in place for him; a failing economy (worst since the Great Depression), corruption on wall street and in banks, major companies like AIG, GM, Chrysler, Citigroup going bankrupt, etc.., two wars, North Korea testing missiles, a corrupt Iran election with Iranians rioting. He also brought along his own agenda that he ran his campaign on, that being, getting out of Iraq, fixing Afghanistan, energy and environment reform, nuclear perforation, tax cuts for middle class and health care reform.
That doesn't count the 'normal' business of a newly elected President, like the transitional period of nominating his cabinet members and staff, moving into the White House, setting up his children in school, shutting down campaign headquarters, his current home in Illinois, picking a dog, meeting with foreign officials, meeting with all members of Congress, getting everyday type bills passed, etc...
To top all that off, he's had to nominate and get her confirmed, a new Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.
From the very beginning of Obama's administration, they've had to face a worldwide economic crisis. Instead of doing what most presidents would have done, concentrate on stopping that crisis- only. He and his administration, along with the Democratic Party decided to take the situation head on. Not only did they want to stop the situation from getting worse, they decided why not take advantage of the crisis and fix what caused it, as well as maybe fix some things like our energy dependence on oil, fixing our electric grids, roads and bridges, reforming our health care system, our health records system, even the things we spend money on at the Pentagon like eliminating wasteful spending like on the F22s, all of which encompassed some of their own agenda that they ran their campaign on. The things Americans voted them into office to do.
This administration is not only trying to 'control' the situation in America, they are remaking the way American's live and work.
Think of this situation like you would if you went to a credit counseling service. They wouldn't just fix your monthly premiums so you could 'get by' or 'get over' the hump in your life; they'd rewrite the way you should live your daily lives, hopefully to improve it in the long run. They'd tell you how to run your budget, how much to spend for food, luxuries, entertainment, gas, future home repairs, insurances, and health care, etc...
Comparing the Obama administration's first and second 100 days to that of the Bush administrations is just plain silly. Compare instead what each administration was facing during those first 200 days in office.
What did former president Bush have to face during his first 200 days? If memory serves me right, all he had to worry about was getting a tax cut rebate passed in Congress.
Oh, and in March of that year Bush had the famous patrol aircraft on a routine surveillance mission in international airspace over the South China colliding with one of two Chinese fighters that were shadowing our plane. Both aircrafts were damaged in the collision. Our aircraft made an emergency landing at an airfield on China's Hainan Island. For political reasons, I believe, the Bush administration made this story out to be their big 'foreign policy mission', making the story out to be a very dangerous one, even though we are allies with the Chinese on many issues; and ignoring the fact that the Bush family use to live in China for years when Bush senior was an ambassador.
Now look at the polls after comparing both administration's jobs during the first 200 days, they still show Obama's team even with that of the Bush administration this time in August of 2001.
Just imagine what Obama's poll numbers would be like if not for the economic crisis that the Bush administration and the GOP left behind.