by Cheron Taylor

Created on: November 14, 2008   Last Updated: January 16, 2009

The Obama Administration: First 100 Days

Fair comparisons have already been made between the situation faced by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 during the Great Depression and the difficulties faced by the current President-elect. Both men were elected based largely on promises to usher in swift, effective action that would spark economic recovery during desperate times.

With an overwhelming mandate to heal the battered U.S. economy resting squarely on his shoulders, Barack Obama's presidential plate is already full-he just hasn't been officially invited to dine yet. With a high profile transition team in place and a meticulous Cabinet selection process already begun, the President-elect is poised to hit the ground running immediately after his inauguration.

Many will side with tradition and judge Barack Obama strongly based on what he accomplishes during his first one hundred days in office. Here are some of the issues Americans can expect to see first action on in 2009.

The Economy

The current financial crisis will receive immediate and almost unprecedented attention. Fresh from a meeting with his transitional economic advisory board, just days following the election, President-elect Barack Obama told reporters that he advocates the immediate passage of a stimulus package. Should it not occur during the lame-duck session, he asserted that it would be his first act as President.

Intimately tied to economic recovery is the job issue. The new President must implement a tiered set of initiatives geared toward job creation. Obama's strategy will evolve over the weeks preceding inauguration, but will likely include several measures he has already mentioned, such federal aid to state and local governments to prevent job loss in those sectors and creating a policy which accelerates growth of alternative energy technologies.

International Relations

The letter of congratulations sent by Iranian President Ahmadinejad to President-elect Barack Obama does not promise future smooth relations between the United States and Iran. What it does signal is that Iran intends to aggressively push for immediate White House attention regarding sanctions on the country.

The nuclear issue will also be fairly pressing during the first one hundred days. The President will speak firmly, with perhaps a greater degree of diplomacy than his predecessor, when addressing the nuclear pursuits of North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran.

Overwhelming the most critical set of foreign relations

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