Sunday Political Brunch: The 100 Day Myth—April 30, 2017
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Mark Curtis, GoLocalWorcester Contributor
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| Mark Curtis |
I've been preaching against the "100 Day" benchmark for weeks, to no avail. I've argued the standard is a historically-meaningless media-creation, so I got curious about some of the Presidents in my own life time and what they accomplished. Let's "brunch" on that this week.
“Win 100 for the Gipper” - I'm not going in any chronological order here; it's just random. I remember President Reagan's first 100 days for two things. First, the American hostages in Iran were released the day of Reagan's Inaugural. It was not so much Reagan's doing (although I think Iran feared him more), but it was a way for Iran to rub President Jimmy Carter's nose in the dirt. Then on day 70 of his first term Reagan was the victim of a near-fatal assassination attempt. His gritty survival gave him the perception of being tougher and stronger. He became "The Teflon President" because nothing would stick. It remained his legacy from that point forward.
"Clinton-Trump Connection" -- No, I'm not comparing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump here, I'm talking Bill and Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump. They pressed to pass their 1993 health care reform bill in the first 100 days, by steamrolling certain Congressional leaders who were key players on the health issue. It not only missed the 100-day target, it completely failed by that fall. My point is that President Trump's attempt to change health care reform – in either direction - is not without precedent.
"Help Wanted: Attorney General" -- One of the toughest assignments for President Clinton in 1993 was finding an Attorney General. Just two days after taking office Clinton abandoned his first nominee - Zoe Baird - after it was revealed she and her husband hired an illegal immigrant housekeeper and nanny and did not pay their social security taxes. Federal Judge Kimba Wood was then nominated for AG, but it soon surfaced that she also had an immigrant nanny (though in her case Wood paid the employment taxes). But the damage was done, and Wood withdrew. Clinton finally settled on Dade County, Florida State Attorney Janet Reno, who took office on day 51 of the Clinton term.
"Our Long National Nightmare is Not Over" -- When he was sworn in to succeed President Nixon on August 9, 1974, President Gerald Ford said, "Our long national nightmare is over." Just 22 days later, Ford issued a pardon to Nixon, and Ford’s political nightmare was just beginning. Ford faced a heavy public backlash and just over two years later was voted out of office. While the pardon helped defeat his reelection bid, the public mood changed dramatically by the time of Ford's death. Most Americans - and even former critic Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - conceded that Ford had done the right thing after all, by putting Watergate behind us.
"Obama's 100" -- Perhaps the biggest achievement of President Obama's first 100 days was passage of his multi-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, approved by Congress on Obama's twenty-second day in office. On the other hand, Obama issued an order to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in his first 100 days, but it remains open to this day.
"Bush II" - The first 100 days of George W. Bush's administration were relatively quiet. Just weeks after taking office, he addressed a joint-session of Congress to lay out his theme for drastic tax cuts, which were approved by June. Certainly, the biggest event in the Bush Presidency came when Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. Everything after that dated changed, which is why I argue the first 100-day benchmark means almost nothing. A crisis renders an arbitrary time frame - well - meaningless.
"Trump's Invitation" - The "First 100 Days" was created by reporters in 1933, after President Franklin Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression. People (and the press) wanted results, and fast. Every President since then has had to deal with this silliness. As much as Trump supporters might try to assuage the benchmark, he brought a good bit of this upon himself by making promises to do a lot in his first three-plus months in office. Sometimes you reap what you sow!
“Trump’s Biggest Success” – Neil Gorsuch is now Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. President Trump may serve four years in office; or eight years if reelected. But Justice Gorsuch is just 49-years-old. He could be handing down Supreme Court decisions for the next 30-plus years. The fact that remnants of the “Reagan Court” are a factor all these years later tells you the imprint of a successful court appointment.
“Trump’s Biggest Failure” – One word – immigration. And sadly, for Mr. Trump, it’s his signature issue. The Executive Order on a travel ban was overturned by the courts, and his new Executive Order is awaiting a judicial ruling. His Executive Order to strip federal funding from self-proclaimed “sanctuary cities” is also tied up in the courts. And, the fact that he had to temporarily punt on his 1.5-billion-dollar request in Congress to start a Mexican border wall is another setback. Yes, all three of these issues can be reversed, so they are not dead yet. But, things are not trending his way on immigration so far.
“Why All This Matters” – While I believe the “100 Day” benchmark is an artificial benchmark created by the press - in which any President has little time to accomplish much - I do believe it has one significant benefit. It is where a President can set the tone for the administration. It’s kind of a road map of, “Here’s where we’re going!” But it does allow for course corrections if there are mistakes, and even political defeats. Often the better benchmark is the midterm election – two years into a Presidential term – when the public gets to send an electoral “report card” to Congress and the President.
What’s your grade for President Trump on his first 100 days in office? A, B, C, D, or F? Just click the comment button at www.MarkCurtisMedia.com.
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