The First Three Weeks - washingtonpost.com

The First Three Weeks

The new presidency has been through a whirlwind both chastening and productive.

Every presidency has its learning curve, and by historical standards Mr. Obama has had more than his share of successes. It did not receive enough notice in the frenzy over the stimulus vote that the Democratic president secured, in addition to the usual suspects, the backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. Mr. Obama already has overseen three major pieces of legislation: the Lilly Ledbetter employment discrimination measure, an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the stimulus package. Not bad for little more than three weeks' work. His reaching out to Republican lawmakers may not have borne immediate fruit, but it planted potentially fertile seeds for future cooperation. Unfortunately for Mr. Obama and the nation, the current economic situation does not allow for the usual margin of error; fairly or not, he will not be measured against normal historical standards. Sooner rather than later, he will have to find the right balance between reassurance and alarmism; sooner than in past administrations, he needs a full team in place. Fortunately for the nation, while Mr. Obama has an experience deficit, he possesses a surfeit of smarts and steadiness. Perhaps partly as a result, the country's optimism about him is accompanied by a realistic assessment of the problems he confronts and the time it will take to address them. Even in an age of instant gratification, Americans seem to understand that economic recovery is likely to take months, if not years. Whether this attitude will continue in the face of continued economic stress is open to question. But the sober approach Mr. Obama has taken since his election, underscoring the severity of the situation and taking pains to avoid over-promising results, may help keep the patient calm in the months that it will take to gauge the medication's effectiveness.

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