New York: Is it a thumbs up or a thumbs down for President Barack Obama as he completes a 100 days in office? What are his achievements as he marks this milestone?
"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America" - this is what US President Barack Obama told the massive crowd gathered on the National Mall for his inauguration, on January 20, 2009.
100 days after he said that, some believe he's done quite a bit. Obama has ordered closure of Guantanamo Bay prison, reworked interrogation policies for terror suspects and promised to pull out majority of troops in Iraq by 2010. And to revive the sagging economy, a 787 billion bailout package plus rescue plans for the banking, auto and real estate sectors.
"He's really gone all in with respect to the capacity of the government to stimulate the economy. The good thing is, he's gone all in. The bad thing is, he's gone all in and if it doesn't work, we're not sure what we're left with," says Allan Lichtman, Presidential Historian.
Others believe Obama is going overboard.
"I think it's dangerous when Barack Obama claims and embraces the idea that the president gets to act like a Roman dictator for economic affairs, restructuring the commanding heights of the economy," puts forth Gene Healy, Vice-President, CATO Institute.
But according to a new AP poll, for the first time in nearly 5 years, more people are saying the US is headed in the right direction. At least for now.
Millions of Americans have been rendered jobless, are worried about their health insurance and angry about tax payers' money being spent on bailouts but polls show a majority of them believe that in his first 100 days in office, their President is taking the steps needed to put their country back on the track.