At “Sunday with the Magazine,’’ a program of interviews and panel discussions presented by The New York Times, five journalists who cover the Obama administration for the paper offered some reasonably sharp observations on the president’s first 103 days.
HOW’S IT GOING? “This has been a pretty tremendous period,’’ said Matt Bai, who regularly writes about politics for the magazine. He was impressed at how successful the administration has been in putting policy first, though perhaps to a fault. Pointing to the gap in the polls between those who like the president and those who support his policies, Bai suggested this may signal problems for the administration six months out, if they haven’t devoted more time and attention converting that popularity into a political mandate.
THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT, OR THE PEOPLE PRESIDENT? “This is a celebrity presidency,’’ said White House Correspondent Peter Baker. “Obama is covered unlike any president has been since JFK. Glamour, Essence, Vogue, People, Us Weekly—they are all interested in this president. And the administration is using it.’’ Popularity is hard to maintain in this media-saturated culture, but so far Obama has been brilliant; the question is whether he’ll be able to keep it up.
COMPARED TO HIS PREDECESSORS. . . “Like Clinton,’’ said Baker, “he has an intellectual appetite. Like Bush, he is disciplined, and has an appetite to make bold decisions.’’ National Political Reporter Mark Leibovich, the author of a cover story on Chris Matthews that I admired quite a bit, pointed out that Obama modeled his press strategy after Bush’s, with a small circle of insiders who exercise tight control of information, and who regard the news media as an adversary. Agreeing, White House Correspondent Helene Cooper said that she found the administration “controlling, particularly on national security stories. I get phone calls from them saying `Why are you writing this story? This is no story.’’’
THE CAPTAIN HAS THE CON Asked which of the powerful personalities on the National Security team was actually running foreign policy, Cooper did not hesitiate: Obama. “He’s prepared. He makes decisions. When you interview officials of other countries, they are impressed with his preparation.’’
THE FDR STANDARD “Compared to FDR, he’s underachieving,’’ said Adam Cohen, my former colleague from Time, and a member of the editorial board, and an author of Nothing to Fear, an excellent book on FDR’s first 100 days. “What Obama has done is important, but the products of FDRs first hundred days—Social Security, FDIC and so on—have really endured.’’
WHO IS THIS GUY? Is Obama progressive or centrist? “He is absolutely progressive,’’ said Bai, but due perhaps to a generational shift, “he is not dogmatic’’ about certain long-held policy positions which “ may have the effect of making him seem more centrist.’’ It’s not appearances, said Cooper–he is centrist, especially on foreign policy matters. “When he goes abroad, he is still the American President, ’’ she said. “ Look at his appointments. The more progressive people from the campaign did not get jobs on the national security team.’’ Baker agreed. “After all the fights, his policy on Iraq is nearly the same as Bush’s.’’
FINAL ANALYSIS The journalists agreed that the administration ain’t seen nothing yet–its biggest challenges lie ahead. “All they’ve really done to this point is spend money, which is pretty easy,’’ said Bai. “It’s harder to create programmatic solutions and ask people to make sacrifices.’’ The fight to reform health care will be major, Bai asserted; a setback in that effort would constitute major failure for the president, given his promises, his party’s control of Congress, and growing widespread support for reform. “And the clock is ticking,’’ Cohen warned. “By the time the midterm elections roll around, he will be less popular.’’
(Pictured: Baker, Bai, Cooper, Cohen and Leibovich. The panel was moderated by Megan Lieberman, the Deputy Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine, my onetime occasional colleague at Swing magazine.)