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Michelle Obama Rejects Demonizing Twinkies In Her Anti-Obesity Crusade
Massachusetts Study: Health Care Reform Reduced Abortions
Women's Vote Will Likely Decide British Elections
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Democrats' Dilemma: Health Care Vote and the 'Enthusiasm Gap'
Pro-life Rep. Perriello Says Abortion Concerns Eased, May Back Health Bill
Chaos Theory - New Textbooks, Y'all!
Iraq War Debate: Surge Success, Intelligence Mistakes, Civilian Casualties
Grading Obama's First 100 Days
Donna Britt, PoliticsDaily.com columnist, gives Obama a B: The happiest surprise was the speed with which Obama has reached out to the global community--reassuring world leaders in Europe, pledging to engage with Venezuela, and easing travel and monetary transactions with Cuba. After eight years of disastrous US foreign policy, Obama seems intent on heal the rifts and suffering caused by the previous administration. And the unhappiest surprise? Obama's appointments of former NY Fed chief Timothy Geithner and former Treasury secretary Larry Summers seem less like "change," and more like "business as usual."
Linda Kulman, who covers education for PoliticsDaily.com: Maybe I'm falling prey to grade inflation, but I give Obama an A minus. The minus is because he and his economic team could have handled the particulars of the financial crisis better -- especially AIG. But with the economy in a shambles, he took on a mess not of his making, and he has been working on that at least since November, not January. What's surprised me about his presidency is that he's keeping his campaign promises. When he started checking things off the list, I thought he was spreading himself too thin. But political capital in Washington doesn't last long and I quickly came to believe that he was smart to use all the momentum he's got.
Lynn Sweet, PoliticsDaily.com columnist: I'm not keen on overall grades, since there are so many different items on President Obama's plate. But I don't want to keep you in suspense; I'm giving Obama an A minus on his first quarter report card. On some of his major signature pledges -- winding down Guantanamo, the Iraq war, ending enhanced interrogations, lifting bans on embryonic stem cell research, setting a new tone with foreign leaders --Obama did what he said he would do.
He also got the ball rolling on health care, and to a lesser degree, immigration. Obama prevailed in his $787 billion economic stimulus package-but with Democratic votes. The era of bi-partisanship Obama talked about on the campaign trail has yet to occur, unless you count converting Sen. Arlen Specter from a Republican to a Democrat. The stimulus bankroll is letting Obama fund his big agenda items in energy, education and the environment. And Obama and his family-First Lady Michelle, daughters Malia and Sasha, Michelle's mom Marian Robinson, and Bo the dog-seem to have in a communal way cheered up the nation in a hard time. But next quarter we'll have some real metrics to grade against: jobless rates, home prices, foreclosures and economic growth.
Melinda Henneberger, editor-in-chief of PoliticsDaily.com: Much as I like President Obama, I'm going to give him a C for now. (Though on the report-card page with all the little checkmarks, I will also write in, "Barack certainly enjoys visiting with his neighbors!'' just like my teachers used to. Only to me, that is a good thing.) There is so much Obama has done masterfully in a time of two wars and this caca economy: The stimulus package could have been bigger, but he did as well as anyone could have in selling it. I also very much appreciate that he is reaching across the aisle, and can't praise his tone and demeanor enough.
So why the low grade? Hey, this isn't Harvard! I did hope we'd be a little closer to exiting from Afghanistan, Iraq and Gitmo by now, though he is proceeding pretty much as he said he would during the campaign. (Oh no, he meant it!) But far worse is his reluctance to appoint a Leahy-style Truth Commission on torture; either we respect international law or we do not. In giving Bush officials a preemptive pass, he is putting himself as much above the law as the Bush administration did. The Geneva Conventions still aren't quaint, sir, and it is above your pay grade to decide when these protections will and will not be applied. Another reason for this middling mark? I know he can do better.
Jill Lawrence, PoliticsDaily.com columnist: I give him an A minus. The president has accomplished an enormous amount in a short time during a period of crisis, and his no-drama rule is serving him well. With all the drama in the economy, the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea and now the flu, the last thing we need is a volatile chief executive or a chaotic White House. Obama is making thoughtful decisions, filling campaign promises, cutting deals when he needs to and generally projecting a reassuring calm. I'm taking slight points off for his crack on Jay Leno's show that his bowling looked like the Special Olympics, too-slow steps to improve TARP transparency and a wishful move-on attitude toward torture. Obama has surprised me most by his omnipresence on TV. Most politicians are wary of overexposure, but he clearly has concluded that he needs to explain and justify everything he's doing as often as possible. So far people seem to like that.
Walter Shapiro, PoliticsDaily.com columnist: I give Obama a B plus. He has passed with flying colors his own stress tests, even if the verdict on his Rube Goldberg-esque bank-rescue plan will not arrive this semester. Despite Obama's up-in-the-ozone poll ratings and his semi-success with Congress, this remains a high-risk, high-reward presidency since the economic recovery could prove as evanescent as victory in Afghanistan. The biggest surprises have been Hillary Clinton's seamless transition to the State Department and Obama's reluctance to give a traditional from-the-big-desk-in-the-Oval-Office TV address.
Matt Lewis, PoliticsDaily.com contributor: Take one big spoonful of charm and style, sprinkle in some gaffes and unnecessary worries, top off with a sprinkle of pseudo-Socialist policies, and assign Barack Obama a 'C' grade. This, of course, will draw criticism, but remember -- a president is supposed to be popular in his first 100 days, so what we've seen really is, well, average...
Patricia Murphy, PoliticsDaily.com columnist: Grading him on delivering on his campaign promises, I'd give him a B plus. He has ticked through commitments one by one, from stem-cell research to radically changing the tone of American diplomacy. He gets marks off for the "asterisk factor," though, delivering on promises in word but not deed. He'll withdraw all *combat* troops from Iraq. He'll close the revolving door for lobbyists *unless they get a waiver." He'll restrict earmarks next year." It's change you can believe in *most of the time.*
Mark Impomeni, PoliticsDaily.com contributor: I'd give President Obama a solid D grade. After campaiging as the agent of a new kind of politics, the president has governend as a garden-variety liberal. Spending is way up, with taxes soon to follow. Big promises of bigger and more intrusive government have been followed up with action on everything from abortion policy, to nationalizing the banking system, to taking over the auto industry. Obama has made little to no substantive efforts to reach out to minority Republicans, as he promised he would on the campaign trail. Rather, he became personally involved in luring former liberal Republican Sen. Arlen Specter to switch parties with a promise of campaign support and fundraising. This is the action of a bare-knuckles partisan political brawler of the kind that fits in very well with the "old politics" of Washington.
The only thing keeping President Obama's grade in the passing range is the short time that he has been in office, and the hope that his presidency will live up to the promise. Then again, hope is all the president campaigned on, and all he has managed to deliver thus far.
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Melinda Henneberger
Melinda Henneberger is the editor-in-chief of PoliticsDaily.com. She spent 10 years as a reporter for the New York Times, in the paper’s Washington and Rome bureaus... moreComments (58)
cfo2004
12:00PM Apr 29th 2009
I'd have to give him a B+. President Obama has accomplished a lot in a little time. He went a very long way in improving the world's view of the U.S.. So he gets a solid A in foreign affairs. He handled the economic crisis pretty well and did a good job of selling the stimulus plan to the American people. He gets a B in this area. He's keeping his campaign promises (that's very refreshing). The only area I'd give him a C is in his cabinet picks. A few less tax scofflaws on the cabinet would be a good thing.
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(-6)
(-6) 
Agnes
12:20PM Apr 29th 2009
I would give the president an A-minus for his first 100 days in office. This country was in a mess when he was elected and he has managed to keep up afloat and I believe that things are slowly beginning to turn around. With more time and patience on the part of the American people he will get the job done.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-2)
(-2) theloftview
12:58PM Apr 29th 2009
What has he begun to "turn around"? How much time and patience should we have if not even a SINGLE thing has turned around in the first 100 days? Please explain...
RATE THIS COMMENT:
(5)
(5) Bayan Abraham
12:27PM Apr 29th 2009
I give president Obama an A . I feel president Obama is doing a wonderful job in his first 100 days , his energy level speaks for it's self. Don't forget he's not the reason we're falling as a country , and the problems that we have may take years and years to recover from , but I tell you this every 100 days that the president is in office I feel will be most productive , in our goals that need to be addressed.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-4)
(-4) Johnshrl
12:30PM Apr 29th 2009
What the hell is PoliticsDaily.com??
What a useless waste of time. But this is about AOL's Rock Star.
What a useless waste of time. But this is about AOL's Rock Star.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (4)
(4) Rob Ashworth
12:42PM Apr 29th 2009
The thing that jumps right out of the article this that most of the women give their new super hero very high marks when the men are more realistic as to the reality of this very fragile nation. Beinning the Estrogen level in government and media is very over the top when it's gut check time. I see a lot of liberisms with little or no common sense issues attached, of course since our educatiors for the most part are libererals with nothing to base all their suspect theroy on becasue the have little or no practical application to back it up, we can't be to surprised
RATE THIS COMMENT: (8)
(8) Bonnier
4:00PM Apr 29th 2009
Let me put my estrogen-loaded vote in here and say that I'll give him a D-. He's backed off on many "changes we can believe in" and his wishy washy response to the torture issue is disturbing and at the same time very dangerous for our country. Add in his firing of the GM CEO (is he even a stock holder?), his bi-partisan back-off (he puts on a good show though and blames the Republicans for his lack of success in this area),his pandering to Hugo Chavez, bowing to the Saudi king, and going overseas to apologize for all the wrongs our country has done in the past (I wonder if the French and Germans even remember which nation came to their aid after WWII to rebuild their countries.) His reward to extending his hand to these foreign countries has been a hard slap in the face from North Korea, Iran and Cuba and no European help in Afghanistan. Yep, as a matter of fact D- is pretty generous of me.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (5)
(5) tholmquist
12:43PM Apr 29th 2009
I'd give him a D. He is totally inept and has no clue what he's doing. He has yet to pass up the opportunity to put his face on the screen, even if it is when he is trying to be funny with Jay Leno. Totally inappropriately bows to the Saudi King and just has not brought the "change" he supposedly thought he could. Of course, I was not snowed by him to begin with so I am not surprised.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) EYVONNE
1:45PM Apr 29th 2009
if you remove your head out your butt you will see this man has done more in his short time, cleaning up many years of someones mess is not easy.with everything, it takes time at least the clean-up has begun.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-2)
(-2) Save America
12:46PM Apr 29th 2009
I would give him an A for his ability as a speaker to mezmerize his listeners into believing in his idea of change for this country and a D for his ability to lead this country in the best interest of the people and a F because he compaigned as a conservative Democrat and after he won the election he changed his leadership ideology to the radical liberal he had been from the start. This man did a snow job on the American people and the sad part is we let him.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) Elaine
11:19PM May 3rd 2009
You are certainly right on that one.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-3)
(-3) Ruby
12:46PM Apr 29th 2009
I would give Obama a "C" on his understanding of the changes needed to improve education. He still thinks that we only need to improve teacher quality. Obama has not been able to grasp the truth that it is the socio-economic level of students that determines educational achievement.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-7)
(-7) bonbon
5:47PM Apr 29th 2009
hello Ruby
you are being very generous,
you are being very generous,
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-2)
(-2) ProPalin
1:19PM Apr 29th 2009
He's keeping his campaign promises ..."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Name one, Dear. ONE.
The first several posts are ridiculous brown-nose gushing and worse, NOT TRUE. Read, watch some decent news...you're wrong, Ladies!
His approval ratings are in the toilet no matter what the liberal lying media says. I am concerned about the direction our country is taking. Who's puppet is this guy? Is he the anti-Christ's front man, as the Baptist was Christ's? These past three months have been SO weird and it's only gonna get weirder.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Name one, Dear. ONE.
The first several posts are ridiculous brown-nose gushing and worse, NOT TRUE. Read, watch some decent news...you're wrong, Ladies!
His approval ratings are in the toilet no matter what the liberal lying media says. I am concerned about the direction our country is taking. Who's puppet is this guy? Is he the anti-Christ's front man, as the Baptist was Christ's? These past three months have been SO weird and it's only gonna get weirder.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) KLawrenc
6:44PM Apr 29th 2009
Seems to me that your comments are not only ridiculous but so far reaching that your head is probably stuck in the toilet!!! Where are the Bush'? Where was George W Bush (ex-Pres that damned and doomed this country from the jump) when the economy was going into the toilet. You seem to be one of those fascists whose main goal is to spread doom and destruction. PRESIDENT OBAMA did NOT create this mess...however, hata, he is trying to fix it which is more than we can say for our lovely ex-President who is holed up in Texas with his millions...by the way, how much of that money did, or is, your ex-President giving to you after he started the process of this country heading into the toilet. PRESIDENT OBAMA did NOT create this mess (yes, I said this before) he, however, is trying to fix it. Get up off your fat behind and do something positive for your community.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-2)
(-2) coyotetom
1:24PM Apr 29th 2009
He keeps printing money up at this rate in 2 years a six pack of coke will go for around $500.00 The only change I see, is that he rewards failure instead of hard work. Oh yeah, the other change I see is that he never fails to villify our country to the Euopeans. I guess saving their butts in WW1 and WW11 doesn't mean anything. I,ve got an uncle MIA from ww11 who never came back home, fighting for the freedom of those feckless jerks. He and the liberal democrats have to stop blaming our sovereignty, our great country for all the ills of the world.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) Myldred P. Hill
1:50PM Apr 29th 2009
President Obama gets an A+. I began my assessments about a year ago. Watching him calmly tread the rough waters during the candidacy against Hillary Rodham Clinton and Past President Bill Clinton, John McCain and the pit bull with lip stick, post inauguration mean-spirited attack from Dick Cheney and his clan; the President is amazingly focused on the affairs of the American people and the entire world. Aside from being focused, he is caring, compassionate, extremely intelligent and fearless. If he can accomplish what he has with such vehement attacks from the GOP grumps and faded-out has-beens/wanna-be's; just imagine what lies ahead. So many are praying for his success. We need President Obama to be successful. This young, gifted male, can truly lead the world to higher places!
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-5)
(-5) JJNNATLIASNANA
1:42PM Apr 29th 2009
I GIVE THE PRESIDENT A D-. WHAT HAS HE DONE BUT SPEND TRILLIONS, TALK LIBERALISM, MORE GOVERMENT, WE AREN'T A CHRISTIAN NATION, HE WENT AGAINST US WHEN HE VISITED OVERSEAS. HE'S A TRADER, LIAR, WILL DSETROY US. EVEN THE FIRST LADY. MY MY MY MY MY MY, WHO IS SHE BUT A BIG DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DRESS, UNLESS SMILING BIG IS HOMELY. ARE WE TO FASHION AFTER HER? I DONT THINK SO. BACK TO THE PRESIDENT. HONEY MAY FLOW FROM HIS MOUTH, BUT IT'S REALLY VINEGAR. I TELL YOU PEOPLE HE IS A TRADER. BOWS DOWN TO THE ENEMY AND SAYS WE ARE AN IGNORANT NATION. WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? I'VE BEEN AROUND LONG LONG BEFORE THE WORLD WAR 11, AND AS YET HAS NEVER SEEN THE LIKES IF HIM IN THE GOOD OLE USA. GOD BLESS AMERICA???? NOT TILL WE GET BETTER AT THINGS. LETS START WITH THOSE IN WASHINGTON D.C. THROW THEM OUT AND START OVER. TURN THE GOOD BOOK RIGHTSDIE UP. LIVE BY THE DECLARATION OF INDEPEDNECE,NOT THE OBOMA RING LEADER. BIDEN IS EVEN WORSE. LETS PUT POLOSI IN THE MIX TOO. DON'T GET ME STARTED............ THIS IS MERELY A SYNPOSIS OF WHAT I SEE KNOW AND THINK.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) DuoMaxwell
3:18AM May 5th 2009
Go back to school and learn how to speak properly before you try to slander everyone you ignorant waste of humanity!
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-1)
(-1) EYVONNE
1:48PM Apr 29th 2009
WAKE-UP
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(1) 
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