The First 100 Days -It's All About The Economy
by Erin Kotecki Vest

As the dust settles on cabinet appointments and the administration rounds itself out, all eyes are starting to focus on the first 100 days of the Obama presidency.

While the pundits predict, one issue will certainly take precedent in the first 100 days: the economy.

Even Karl Rove agrees.

So if the economy is #1 on the list...what falls to #2 or even #3...or is there even room for anything else?

Cue the internet which has no shortage of bloggers recommending their issues for inclusion in the first 100 days.

Olivia Judson wants to restore science in government, "The most notable characteristic of the Bush administration’s science policy has been the repeated distortion and suppression of scientific evidence in order to fit ideological preferences about how the world should be, rather than how it is.

In his disturbing book 'Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration,' the journalist Seth Shulman describes case after case of intimidation of scientists in government posts, the suppression of scientific evidence and the perpetuation of misinformation.

The fields affected range from climate change to public health. Although some incidents are small in and of themselves, the cumulative effect is horrifying. Shulman also catalogs a long list of established government scientists who, during the course of the Bush administration, resigned their posts in despair."

Over at Change.org, where you can submit your idea for how the Obama Administration should change America, DreamACTivist, Jen Nedeau, and Sarah Nelson Wright all have top rated ideas.

And then there are the ideas you don't hear as often in the media. Like American Rivers, who believe Obama should make water infrastructure a top economic stimulus priority,

“If the economic stimulus plan doesn’t include significant investments in green solutions for our water infrastructure needs, a once-in-a-century opportunity will be lost,” said Betsy Otto, vice president for strategic partnerships at American Rivers.

At NationalJournal.com Michelle Williams speaks to Terry Sullivan who runs down some reminders on the reality of the first 100 days.

"NJ: What might we expect from Obama during his first days in office?

Sullivan: Well, I think obviously there's going to be a huge push for an economic stimulus package. The economy has really taken away from him the opportunity to pursue the sort of campaign promises that he made. So first and foremost will be the economy; first and foremost will be the setting out of the federal budget. You know, I think we can expect those to go quickly.

We can expect the nominations to get approval quickly. Typically when we have presidents and majorities in the Senate of the same party, what happens is that we get lightning advise-and-consent, and I would expect that. So the president-elect will really have a good opportunity to focus on an agenda that he wants to focus on, or that he needs to focus on, and he'll have a team in place to will allow him to focus on them. So I would think there would be quick consideration of the things he thinks will make a difference."

Clearly we can expect economy. Economy. Economy. And Economy. And then maybe, just maybe, one of your ideas will sneak in, fresh from the internet.

Erin Kotecki Vest also Queen of Spain blog

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