Story Created:
May 8, 2009 at 11:08 AM PST
Story Updated:
May 8, 2009 at 11:18 AM PST
Last week President Barack Obama completed his first 100 days in office. Many of us still feel the excitement and pride of his election in November and his inauguration in January as our nation’s first Black president.
One hundred days is not very long for a president to implement policies. After all, Obama has more than 1,300 days remaining in his presidency — and that is just until the end of his first term — so now is not the best time for a thorough evaluation.
Nonetheless, the media have devoted a lot of attention to this artificial timeline, and to his great credit, President Obama already has significant accomplishments. He is making a positive impact on our nation and indeed the world.
His strong and bold leadership so far has earned him straight A’s in my book.
President Obama has worked well with Congress, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus. He has helped us pass and enact important legislation, including bills providing health care coverage for 11 million children and restoring fair pay for women and other workers.
Most significantly, he has moved swiftly, wisely and effectively to dig us out of the economic crisis that he inherited.
The president’s economic recovery package — what many people call “the stimulus plan” — is already making a difference in communities all over our country: helping save and create jobs for millions of Americans, cutting taxes for 95 percent of American workers, funding vital projects, and laying the foundation for our future by improving education, making health care affordable and transitioning to clean, renewable energy.
As chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, I have emphasized that our economic recovery also depends on our response to the foreclosure crisis. The president has established a plan to help up to 9 million families avoid foreclosure by making it easier for homeowners to modify their mortgages and lower their interest rates.
In addition, the administration is helping to implement a program I spearheaded to stabilize neighborhoods by working with local communities to fix up foreclosed properties and make them available to low or moderate-income homebuyers.
The president has also taken seriously his pledge to stand up for American consumers struggling through this recession. He has summoned the CEOs of credit card companies to the White House to tell them that the era of business-as-usual is over. And this week Congress passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights that protects against sky-high interest rates, due-date gimmicks and unfair and confusing credit card agreements.
In addition to his direct and concrete effect on our nation by implementing successful policies, he has had an intangible but no less real and noticeable effect on the American psyche. Barack Obama continues to inspire. He is a role model both here at home in America and overseas.
While African-Americans are especially proud of him, Barack Obama is of course the president for all Americans, and we all want him to succeed.
Although times are tough and we realize there is still much work to be done, he has great confidence and in turn gives Americans confidence. We believe that he will continue to make our country better and our lives better.
After eight years of the Bush Administration’s mismanagement of the economy and arrogant, reckless foreign policy, President Obama is a welcome breath of fresh air.
Rep. Maxine Waters is a member of the House of Representatives from California’s 35th District. She wrote this special commentary for the NNPA.
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