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| Obama diary: The first 100 days | Obama diary: The first 100 days |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Barack Obama was elected on a message of change. Now he is in office, change is expected both in foreign and domestic policy. Here the BBC's team in Washington tracks developments in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. | Barack Obama was elected on a message of change. Now he is in office, change is expected both in foreign and domestic policy. Here the BBC's team in Washington tracks developments in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. |
| MONDAY 23 FEBRUARY - DAY 34 | |
| 1430 EST Comings and goings at Guantanamo Bay | |
| James Coomarasamy: On the way out: Binyam Mohammed, the Ethiopian-born UK resident, who's become the prison camp's first detainee to be released under the Obama Administration. | |
| On the way in (for one day only): Eric Holder, the new US Attorney General, whose job is to negotiate the legal minefield surrounding Guantanamo's closure. His fact-finding mission comes amid mounting concern from some civil liberties' groups, that the new government's initial, clear position on the more dubious practices associated with the "war on terror" is becoming somewhat muddied. | |
| President Obama has sidestepped questions about his willingness to investigate allegations of torture and has been criticised for invoking the state secret privilege to deny Binyam Mohammed and others their day in a federal court. | |
| As the Justice Department statement on Mohammed's release makes clear, Mr Obama wants other countries to help shoulder the burden, as he struggles with the legal, national security and political complexities of following through on his early, headline-grabbing pledge to close Guantanamo Bay within a year. | |
| SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - DAY 34 | SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - DAY 34 |
| 1830 EST Budget challenge ahead | 1830 EST Budget challenge ahead |
| Kevin Connolly: And so begins another "big week" for the Obama administration, which hasn't had any small weeks yet. | Kevin Connolly: And so begins another "big week" for the Obama administration, which hasn't had any small weeks yet. |
| The agenda for the coming days is dominated by the task of squaring the circle - the president will publish outline budget proposals which will apparently explain how he will not only borrow and spend the vast amounts of money in the stimulus package, but also cut America's budget deficit in half by the end of his (first?) term. | The agenda for the coming days is dominated by the task of squaring the circle - the president will publish outline budget proposals which will apparently explain how he will not only borrow and spend the vast amounts of money in the stimulus package, but also cut America's budget deficit in half by the end of his (first?) term. |
| It's estimated the deficit this year could hit an eye-watering $1.3tn and briefings from officials suggest Mr Obama wants to cut it to around $533bn - hardly small change, but a big improvement. | It's estimated the deficit this year could hit an eye-watering $1.3tn and briefings from officials suggest Mr Obama wants to cut it to around $533bn - hardly small change, but a big improvement. |
| The White House thinks this can be done by allowing George W Bush's tax breaks for the well-paid to expire and reducing the military commitment in Iraq - but it's also talking about eliminating "waste" in government. | The White House thinks this can be done by allowing George W Bush's tax breaks for the well-paid to expire and reducing the military commitment in Iraq - but it's also talking about eliminating "waste" in government. |
| That last item will cause most of the problems - it's hard for a president whose party believes in big government (and has just given it an extra $787bn) to start making deep cuts. | That last item will cause most of the problems - it's hard for a president whose party believes in big government (and has just given it an extra $787bn) to start making deep cuts. |
| Mr Obama has changed lots of the rules of American politics - but being a big spender AND a budget balancer? That really would be something. | Mr Obama has changed lots of the rules of American politics - but being a big spender AND a budget balancer? That really would be something. |
| SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY - DAY 33 | SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY - DAY 33 |
| 2145 EST Brown takes first prize | 2145 EST Brown takes first prize |
| Kevin Connolly: Diplomats are generally far too dignified as a group to indulge in anything so uncouth as jockeying for position, and any scrabbling for advantage in their line of work is usually done pretty discreetly. | Kevin Connolly: Diplomats are generally far too dignified as a group to indulge in anything so uncouth as jockeying for position, and any scrabbling for advantage in their line of work is usually done pretty discreetly. |
| But make no mistake about it, there's been intense competition among European leaders to secure the first invitation to the Obama White House. | But make no mistake about it, there's been intense competition among European leaders to secure the first invitation to the Obama White House. |
| Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel even went to the trouble of penning a joint newspaper article (or at least instructing their officials to write one) calling for a new era of translatlantic co-operation. | Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel even went to the trouble of penning a joint newspaper article (or at least instructing their officials to write one) calling for a new era of translatlantic co-operation. |
| But to no avail. The White House has issued its first invitation to a European leader of the Obama presidency, and it's gone to Gordon Brown. Rewarding a loyal ally in the fields of security and intelligence trumped the impulse to usher in a new relationship between the rest of Europe and post-Bush America. | But to no avail. The White House has issued its first invitation to a European leader of the Obama presidency, and it's gone to Gordon Brown. Rewarding a loyal ally in the fields of security and intelligence trumped the impulse to usher in a new relationship between the rest of Europe and post-Bush America. |
| Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso beat them all to it, but you could view that as a sympathetic gesture from Mr Obama to a friend in trouble at home. | Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso beat them all to it, but you could view that as a sympathetic gesture from Mr Obama to a friend in trouble at home. |
| It's an interesting thought that all the politicians clamouring for invites to Washington have obviously decided that Mr Obama's undoubted celebrity charisma will rub off on them, rather than overshadow them. We'll see. | It's an interesting thought that all the politicians clamouring for invites to Washington have obviously decided that Mr Obama's undoubted celebrity charisma will rub off on them, rather than overshadow them. We'll see. |
| 0100 EST Looking to the heavens | 0100 EST Looking to the heavens |
| Kevin Connolly: It is not unusual, of course, to hear the name of the Almighty invoked in American politics - but Jesus Christ is popping up at the moment in a way which is new to me. | Kevin Connolly: It is not unusual, of course, to hear the name of the Almighty invoked in American politics - but Jesus Christ is popping up at the moment in a way which is new to me. |
| A lobbying group opposed to the stimulus package - pushing the Republican idea that it's all about Big Government wasting Your Money - has come up with a handy calculation. | A lobbying group opposed to the stimulus package - pushing the Republican idea that it's all about Big Government wasting Your Money - has come up with a handy calculation. |
| In a TV advertising spot, it says if you'd started spending money at the rate of $1m a day since the day Christ was born and carried on up to the present day, you still wouldn't have run through as much money as Congress voted to approve in the stimulus bill (about $800bn). | In a TV advertising spot, it says if you'd started spending money at the rate of $1m a day since the day Christ was born and carried on up to the present day, you still wouldn't have run through as much money as Congress voted to approve in the stimulus bill (about $800bn). |
| The sheer scale of the numbers involved is encouraging more and more exotic devices for conveying a sense of scale. | The sheer scale of the numbers involved is encouraging more and more exotic devices for conveying a sense of scale. |
| This new statistic is as compelling as the one about how the bail-out funds in total would stretch 63 miles into the sky if you cashed them in $1,000 bills and piled them on top of each other. Or was it 64 miles? | This new statistic is as compelling as the one about how the bail-out funds in total would stretch 63 miles into the sky if you cashed them in $1,000 bills and piled them on top of each other. Or was it 64 miles? |
| FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY - DAY 32 1815 EST Canada sets bar high | FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY - DAY 32 1815 EST Canada sets bar high |
| Kevin Connolly: Flying back from Ottawa, where Mr Obama's brief stopover yesterday was treated like a combination of a Beatles Reunion and a papal visit, I couldn't help noticing the enthusiasm (to put it mildly) with which his every word and gesture was applauded. | Kevin Connolly: Flying back from Ottawa, where Mr Obama's brief stopover yesterday was treated like a combination of a Beatles Reunion and a papal visit, I couldn't help noticing the enthusiasm (to put it mildly) with which his every word and gesture was applauded. |
| The next day's Globe and Mail (whose coverage was so extensive it kept me going until I was safely back in Washington) even managed to make light of Mr Obama's opening remarks, which started off with the words "It's a pleasure to be here in Iowa... er... Ottawa". | The next day's Globe and Mail (whose coverage was so extensive it kept me going until I was safely back in Washington) even managed to make light of Mr Obama's opening remarks, which started off with the words "It's a pleasure to be here in Iowa... er... Ottawa". |
| The Globe and Mail found it "easy to forgive" - I wonder if they'd have extended the same latitude to George W Bush. | The Globe and Mail found it "easy to forgive" - I wonder if they'd have extended the same latitude to George W Bush. |
| The same tone of breathless enthusiasm greeted Mr Obama's use of a single word of French in his news conference - "merci" - which was described as having sent French-Canadian reporters into "giddy delight". | The same tone of breathless enthusiasm greeted Mr Obama's use of a single word of French in his news conference - "merci" - which was described as having sent French-Canadian reporters into "giddy delight". |
| We can probably expect Mr Obama - who is almost certainly the most famous and the most popular person in the world at the moment - to be greeted with enthusiasm wherever he goes, at least in the early part of his presidency. | We can probably expect Mr Obama - who is almost certainly the most famous and the most popular person in the world at the moment - to be greeted with enthusiasm wherever he goes, at least in the early part of his presidency. |
| Canada has set the bar pretty high. | Canada has set the bar pretty high. |
| Obama pledges Canada co-operation | Obama pledges Canada co-operation |
| THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY - DAY 31 0416 EST Hillary's North Korea headache | THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY - DAY 31 0416 EST Hillary's North Korea headache |
| Kim Ghattas: I've flown to Seoul ahead of Hillary Clinton to get a sense of what South Korea is expecting from the new US administration. | Kim Ghattas: I've flown to Seoul ahead of Hillary Clinton to get a sense of what South Korea is expecting from the new US administration. |
| North Korea's nuclear programme will top the agenda of talks here and there's been quite a bit of tension between the two Koreas recently, especially amidst reports that Pyongyang is preparing to test a long range missile. | North Korea's nuclear programme will top the agenda of talks here and there's been quite a bit of tension between the two Koreas recently, especially amidst reports that Pyongyang is preparing to test a long range missile. |
| The North has also accused Seoul and Washington of preparing to invade North Korea. They deny trying to grab the attention of the Obama administration but they're clearly trying to improve their bargaining position for whenever the talks resume. | The North has also accused Seoul and Washington of preparing to invade North Korea. They deny trying to grab the attention of the Obama administration but they're clearly trying to improve their bargaining position for whenever the talks resume. |
| In addition, the North Koreans seem to be the ones mostly driving the process - they got quite a few concessions from the Bush administration and have still not given up much themselves. | In addition, the North Koreans seem to be the ones mostly driving the process - they got quite a few concessions from the Bush administration and have still not given up much themselves. |
| At the end of her term, Condoleezza Rice said "only an idiot would trust" the North Koreans which is why Washington was insistent on verifying Pyongyang's declaration about its nukes. | At the end of her term, Condoleezza Rice said "only an idiot would trust" the North Koreans which is why Washington was insistent on verifying Pyongyang's declaration about its nukes. |
| But much to the dismay of hardliners in Washington, President George W Bush and Dr Rice had "trusted" the process enough to remove the reclusive state from the list of sponsors of terrorism last summer before the declaration was verified. | But much to the dismay of hardliners in Washington, President George W Bush and Dr Rice had "trusted" the process enough to remove the reclusive state from the list of sponsors of terrorism last summer before the declaration was verified. |
| Hardliners are now warning Mrs Clinton not to make the same "trust" mistake because when it comes to North Korea, it will be mostly continuity, not change, under Obama. LA Times - opinion piece | Hardliners are now warning Mrs Clinton not to make the same "trust" mistake because when it comes to North Korea, it will be mostly continuity, not change, under Obama. LA Times - opinion piece |
| Continuity to the extent that Chris Hill, the top North Korea negotiator under Bush, is still in his position in the new administration - at least for now. | Continuity to the extent that Chris Hill, the top North Korea negotiator under Bush, is still in his position in the new administration - at least for now. |
| So while there is some hope in Seoul that Hillary Clinton will somehow be able to kick-start the denuclearisation talks that stalled late last year, there's no sign yet of how the new administration might achieve that and what new proposals they might be bringing. | So while there is some hope in Seoul that Hillary Clinton will somehow be able to kick-start the denuclearisation talks that stalled late last year, there's no sign yet of how the new administration might achieve that and what new proposals they might be bringing. |
| One new element is the man who is expected to be appointed to replace Hill - Steve Bosworth. A Tufts professor, he recently travelled to Pyongyang with other experts on a private mission. The group's report raises serious questions in its assessment of the situation. East Asia Forum - Obama's North Korea challenge | One new element is the man who is expected to be appointed to replace Hill - Steve Bosworth. A Tufts professor, he recently travelled to Pyongyang with other experts on a private mission. The group's report raises serious questions in its assessment of the situation. East Asia Forum - Obama's North Korea challenge |
| Obama diary: Days 1-10Obama diary: Days 11-20Obama diary: Days 21-30Obama diary: Contributors | Obama diary: Days 1-10Obama diary: Days 11-20Obama diary: Days 21-30Obama diary: Contributors |