First 100 Days? Too Slow for O

In new White House, change will happen in 100 hours—or maybe mere minutes
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 20, 2009 8:57 AM CST
First 100 Days? Too Slow for O
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush walk across the South Lawn as they arrive at the White House, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009, in Washington.    (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

At minute one, everything changes. The inaugural passing of the baton will happen at lightning speed today, Politico reports, as the new team hits the ground running, amid an economic crisis that makes the traditional timetable obsolete. Through the morning, White House staff will work furiously to get the building ready and move in the new first family's belongings. Clothing will be hung in closets, stuffed animals placed on the girls' beds, and refrigerator stocked with the family's favorite foods by the time they get to the residence later today.

While Barack Obama is still giving his inaugural address, aides will be en route to the White House to take over. And then the real fun starts.Tomorrow, says senior Obama adviser David Axelrod, the new president will order the military to begin planning a 16-month Iraq withdrawal. By week’s end, he’s likely to order the closing of Guantanamo, and he may lift the “global gag rule” on funding for international abortion providers. And what’s on the outgoing president’s schedule? “Not a whole lot, other than I will stop getting paid,” says a spokesman.
(More Barack Obama stories.)

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