Obama's first 100 days quite impressive

Barack Obama's first 100 days in office have been quite impressive and polls show the US President enjoying an approval rating of 68 per cent. Obama has adopted a calm, level-headed and self-confident approach - just as he did in his presidential campaign - and this has helped him keep public opinion on his side.

Domestically, Obama's major achievement was getting Congress to approve his massive $787 billion stimulus package, something which was absolutely crucial in view of the dire economic situation the US economy was in.

The package had its critics, who claimed that there were not enough tax cuts and that it would pile up future debt, but most people agree that there was really no alternative.

On climate change, the President deserves credit. He has made it clear that America wants to be a leader in this area and $23 billion was earmarked for renewable energy and legislation is in the pipeline to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

On healthcare reform - a key platform of his presidential campaign - Obama's plans were held up by the withdrawal, due to unpaid taxes, of his first nominee for Health Secretary, former Senator Tom Daschle, a major embarrassment for the new administration.

It was only 10 days ago that the Senate approved the President's new health nominee, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who was immediately thrust into the middle of the swine flu public health emergency, and who therefore has had little time for healthcare reform.

Obama also managed to put together a capable team of advisers and Cabinet members, especially in foreign and economic policy. His promise to bridge the partisan divide has not really materialised, although this is not necessarily the President's fault. It takes two to tango and the Republican Party has adopted a somewhat confrontational approach to the new administration.

Not one Republican congressman, for example, voted for Obama's economic stimulus plan, and the President has only one Republican in his Cabinet, former congressman Ray Lahood, who is Transportation Secretary.

However, the recent defection of Republican Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spectre to the Democrats is a huge victory for Obama, and greatly boosts the President's moderate credentials. It also gives the Democrats 59 seats in the Senate, which could increase to 60 - the magic number needed to pass legislation quickly - if a court rules in their favour over a Minnesota Senate seat.

In foreign policy, there has been a definite shift towards a more multilateral and engaged United States, and this has been duly recognised and appreciated by the international community. Obama kept his word and ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay and banned the use of torture on suspected terror suspects. For this he deserves praise.

He promised to step up the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan and has sent an extra 17,000 troops to join the 38,000 already there. He has also proposed more spending on the infrastructure and training of the Afghan security forces and rightly so linked victory in Afghanistan to stability in Pakistan. On the other hand, the refusal of America's Nato allies to send additional troops to Afghanistan is disappointing.

In Iraq Obama has said that most US troops will be withdrawn by August 2010, with 50,000 troops staying until the end of 2011 to protect US interests and advise Iraqi forces. He is right to scale down the US presence in Iraq and concentrate more on Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has appointed a special envoy. Obama has also reached out to the Muslim world, saying America is not and will never be at war with Islam, and has extended the hand of friendship to Iran. Washington now intends to participate fully in international talks with Iran over its nuclear programme, although we have yet to see a change in attitude from Teheran.

Although Obama promised that the Middle East peace process would be a priority for his new administration, very little has been achieved here despite the appointment of a Middle East envoy. The new right-wing government in Israel has not helped matters but one would have expected Washington to be more forceful in its backing for a two-state solution.

Significantly, Obama has set the tone for a renewal of US-Russian relations and agreed with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to reduce their nuclear warheads by December to a number much lower than what Presidents Bush and Putin had agreed to in 2002.

So Obama has definitely got off to a good start, but his honeymoon will obviously not last forever. He will have to build on the foundations of his first 100 days in office, as well as the immense amount of goodwill towards him, both domestically and internationally, to achieve long-lasting concrete results. He has created a good basis for this.