The first 100 days of the Obama presidency began on January 20, 2009, the day Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidency took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in office, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president. The 100th day of Obama's presidency was April 30, 2009. He stated that he should not be judged just by his first hundred days: "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference." Obama began to formally create his presidential footprint during his first 100 days, attempting to foster support for his economic stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill passed in the House on January 28, 2009, by a 244–188 vote, then passed in the Senate on February 10 by a 61–37 margin.

Obama's accomplishments during the first 100 days included signing into law both the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which relaxed the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits, as well as the expanded State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP); winning approval of a congressional budget resolution that put Congress on record as dedicated to dealing with major health care reform legislation in 2009; implementing new ethics guidelines designed to significantly curtail the influence of lobbyists on the executive branch; breaking from the Bush administration on a number of policy fronts, except for Iraq, in which he followed through on Bush's withdrawal of U.S. troops; supporting the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity; and lifting the 7½-year ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.In First 100 Days, Obama Flips Bush Admin's Policies, ABC News, Huma Khan, April 29, 2009 Obama also ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, though this was ultimately unsuccessful. He later lifted some monetary and travel-related restrictions to the island.King: Second 100 days will be bigger test for Obama, CNN, John King

At the end of the first 100 days, 65% of Americans approved of how Obama was doing and 29% disapproved. According to Gallup's First quarter survey in April, President Obama received a 63% approval rating. Gallup began tracking presidential approval ratings of the first quarters since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. President John F. Kennedy received the highest in April 1961 with a 74% rating. Obama's 63% is the fourth highest and the highest since President Jimmy Carter with a 69%. President Ronald Reagan's first quarter had 60% approval in 1981, President George H. W. Bush with 57% in 1989, President Bill Clinton with 55% in 1993, and President George W. Bush with 58% in 2001.

Historical background

During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised drastic initiatives within his first 100 days. The New Deal legislation he got passed set a standard of action that subsequent presidents have been measured against. Although it has less significance, some analysts even make comparisons of the performances of presidents during their first 100 days of the second term.

Obama and previous presidents have made statements that downplayed the significance of their first 100 days. John F. Kennedy once said his mission might never be accomplished: "All this will not be finished in the first hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."

Obama's first 100 days were highly anticipated after he became the apparent presumptive nominee. In his first 60 Minutes post-election interview Obama said that he had been studying Roosevelt's first 100 days. Understanding the significance and symbolism of the first 100 days, Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy included mapping out a first 100 days plan.

While Obama began preparation for his first 100 days during the presidential transition following his election, he stated that America only has one president at a time, especially for issues related to international affairs. During the first hundred days in office presidents are highly scrutinised and heading into the period Obama's intention was to attempt to execute several plans that are going to be watched closely.

Media coverage Despite his attempt to downplay its significance, Obama's first 100 days were highly anticipated ever since he became the presumptive nominee. Several news outlets, such as Fox News and CBS News, even created special portals dedicated to covering the subject.Examples of "100 days"–portals: Commentators particularly weighed in on challenges and priorities within the fields of domestic and foreign policy, on economic issues, and on the environment. CNN listed a number of economic issues which "Obama and his team [would] have to tackle in their first 100 days", foremost among which was implementing a recovery package to deal with the 2008 financial crisis. Even MSNBC.com, which didn't use portals, acknowledged the notability of Obama's first 100 days by including it in the titles of its stories. On Obama's first day in office, BBC World Service released the results of an opinion poll of more than 17,000 people in 17 countries; it showed that 67% anticipated Obama would strengthen U.S. relations abroad, and 80% of Italians and Germans believed U.S. relations with the rest of the world would improve under Obama.

Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, expressed hopes that Obama would close Guantanamo Bay detention camp within the time period. In addition, there were speculations in Jakarta that he might return to his former home city within the first 100 days after presidential aides announced his intention to hold a major foreign policy speech in the capital of an Islamic country.

The New York Times devoted a five-day series, which was spread out over two weeks, to anticipatory analysis of Obama's first hundred days. Each day a political expert's analysis was followed by freely edited blog postings from readers. The writers compared Obama's prospects with the situations of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 16 and February 2, Jean Edward Smith), John F. Kennedy (January 19 and February 10, Richard Reeves), Lyndon B. Johnson (January 23, Robert Dallek), Ronald Reagan (January 27, Lou Cannon), and Richard Nixon (February 4, Roger Morris).

Even political advocacy groups such as Amnesty International planned special strategies to leverage the strategic and political significance of the first 100 days; the group organized a 100 Days Campaign for human rights.

Inauguration

The first 100 days of the Presidency of Barack Obama began during the inauguration of Barack Obama with the conversion of Whitehouse.gov from the Bush Administration version to the Obama Administration version at 12:00 pm on January 20, 2009. This was only the second presidential online portal transition. At 12:01, White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips posted the website's first blog post with themes of "communication", "transparency" and "participation".

Oath of Office

Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution states: "Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:" Then, Article Two of the United States Constitution sets out the language that should be used in the oath of office of the president of the United States: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The Vice President also has an oath of office, but it is not mandated by the Constitution and is prescribed by statute.

During the inauguration, there were two matters of controversy. First, although Obama constitutionally assumed the Presidency at 12:00 pm on January 20, he did not complete the oath of office until 12:05 pm. Clinton also completed the oath about five minutes late during his first inauguration. Additionally, Obama and the administering official, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, did not execute the 35-word oath as prescribed by the United States Constitution. First, Obama jumped in before the "do solemnly swear" phrase, which seemed to throw the Chief Justice off his stride. Subsequently, Roberts moved the word "faithfully" back nine spots, and used "to" instead of "of." That threw the president off, and he smiled and paused to collect his thoughts, then decided to follow Roberts' lead. The flaw is recorded in the transcript of the oath as follows:

Roberts: I, Barack Hussein Obama … Obama: I, Barack … Roberts: … do solemnly swear … Obama: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear … Roberts: … that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully … Obama: … that I will execute … Roberts: … the off – faithfully the pres – the office of president of the United States … Obama (at the same time): … the office of president of the United States faithfully …

According to the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1: "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January". Thus, Bush had relinquished the Presidency at 12:00. According to the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 3: If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President,... if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified." By Article Two, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution and Amendment 20, Some feel that Obama was not able to assume the Presidency until 12:05. In fact, since Biden did not complete his oath until 12:01, there was further speculation as to who was President for the first minute after Bush relinquished control.

Several political and constitutional law experts questioned whether Obama was officially the president since he had not correctly performed the constitutional duty of the Oath. The following day at about 7:35 pm the White House, Roberts re-administered the oath in an act that White House Counsel Greg Craig described as stemming from "an abundance of caution," to quell any concerns that the President may not have been properly sworn in. Both Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur retook the oath under similar circumstances.

Administration and Cabinet