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| Obama diary: The first 100 days | Obama diary: The first 100 days |
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| 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. |
| THURSSDAY 26 MARCH - DAY 66 | |
| 1332 EST Obama's "virtual town hall" | |
| Jon Donnison: President Obama has been taking his message to the internet today in what he's calling the first ever presidential "online town hall meeting". | |
| Over 90,000 people submitted questions to the White House, with the President answering some of them in a live webcast. | |
| Over the past week, Barack Obama has been speaking to the nation by all manner of mediums. | |
| It began with the first ever presidential chat show appearence, then a primetime televised press conference, and today he has turned to the web. | |
| Visitors to the White House website were able to vote on which of the tens of thousands of questions submitted they wanted the President to answer. The theme was supposed to be the economy, but the questions - some of them posted in video form - were wide-ranging. | |
| Questioners asked Mr Obama about job losses, healthcare reform and education policy. | |
| The President was also pressed to address an issue perhaps not right at the top of his inbox - the legalisation of marijuana. | |
| Indeed, legalising the drug was the subject of many of the most popular questions submitted to the site. | |
| "I don't know what this says about the online audience," he joked. | |
| That audience, though, is just another key one that President Obama has managed to speak to this week in an effort to get his message across. | |
| Never before has the American public had such a variety of means to tune in to the nation's Commander-in-Chief. | |
| 1206 EST Geithner's regulation plans | |
| James Coomarasamy: Timothy Geithner has been outlining plans for widespread changes in the way that government regulates the financial system. At a congressional hearing, he said the US economy had failed in basic, fundamental ways - and that the government had come into the current crisis without the tools to manage it effectively. | |
| There couldn't be modest repairs at the margin, he argued, but there had to be "new rules of the game"; a new regulatory framework that would - in the future - allow the government to step in and reduce the systemic risk to the economy posed by failing non-bank institutions (such as the insurance giant AIG). | |
| His proposal - which would need Congressional approval - will form the basis of global discussions at next week's G20 summit in London. | |
| WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH - DAY 65 | WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH - DAY 65 |
| 1800 EST Hill grilled on the Hill | 1800 EST Hill grilled on the Hill |
| Kim Ghattas: He speaks Polish, he's been ambassador to South Korea, helped negotiate an end to the Balkans conflict and shuttled from Washington to Pyong Yang for three years, working on a denuclearisation deal with North Korea. | Kim Ghattas: He speaks Polish, he's been ambassador to South Korea, helped negotiate an end to the Balkans conflict and shuttled from Washington to Pyong Yang for three years, working on a denuclearisation deal with North Korea. |
| Christopher Hill has a weighty CV, but does it prepare him for his next posting - as the US ambassador in Iraq? | Christopher Hill has a weighty CV, but does it prepare him for his next posting - as the US ambassador in Iraq? |
| He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today. | He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today. |
| His lack of Middle East credentials has been highlighted by senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who oppose his nomination. But committee chairman John Kerry said Mr Hill was the right person for Iraq, and the diplomat has also been endorsed by the the top Republican on the committee, Richard Lugar. | His lack of Middle East credentials has been highlighted by senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who oppose his nomination. But committee chairman John Kerry said Mr Hill was the right person for Iraq, and the diplomat has also been endorsed by the the top Republican on the committee, Richard Lugar. |
| With their questions, they allowed Mr Hill to focus on his strong points - his experience in the fractured Balkans would allow him to navigate Iraq's sectarian society and support efforts to build up its civilian government structure. And his work in North Korea, which required coordination with regional allies, would help him support Iraq's efforts to normalise ties with its neighbours. | With their questions, they allowed Mr Hill to focus on his strong points - his experience in the fractured Balkans would allow him to navigate Iraq's sectarian society and support efforts to build up its civilian government structure. And his work in North Korea, which required coordination with regional allies, would help him support Iraq's efforts to normalise ties with its neighbours. |
| 1745 EST Reporters also need prompting | 1745 EST Reporters also need prompting |
| The BBC's North America Editor Justin Webb reveals that one of the journalists at last night's presidential press conference had written out his question in advance as an aide memoire - it seems that the President is not the only one who relies on written prompts when speaking in public... | The BBC's North America Editor Justin Webb reveals that one of the journalists at last night's presidential press conference had written out his question in advance as an aide memoire - it seems that the President is not the only one who relies on written prompts when speaking in public... |
| 1212 EST Mexican trip | 1212 EST Mexican trip |
| Kim Ghattas: Hillary Clinton is meeting Mexican President Felipe Calderon and her counterpart, Patrica Espinosa, today. More high-level visits will take place in the coming weeks. | Kim Ghattas: Hillary Clinton is meeting Mexican President Felipe Calderon and her counterpart, Patrica Espinosa, today. More high-level visits will take place in the coming weeks. |
| It's a sign of how worried Washington is about the crisis next door, as drug gangs wreak havoc in Mexico and violence spills over into the US. | It's a sign of how worried Washington is about the crisis next door, as drug gangs wreak havoc in Mexico and violence spills over into the US. |
| The foreign challenge touches on thorny domestic issues, like trade, immigration and gun control . | The foreign challenge touches on thorny domestic issues, like trade, immigration and gun control . |
| A senior State Department official said the two countries had a shared responsibility to solve the problem, which is fuelled by supply and demand across the border - the drug cartels rely on US demand for drugs, while guns flow from the US into Mexico. | A senior State Department official said the two countries had a shared responsibility to solve the problem, which is fuelled by supply and demand across the border - the drug cartels rely on US demand for drugs, while guns flow from the US into Mexico. |
| The official also said Washington wanted a comprehensive engagement with Mexico and didn't want the relationship to be defined by the drug violence. | The official also said Washington wanted a comprehensive engagement with Mexico and didn't want the relationship to be defined by the drug violence. |
| The issue will be high on Mrs Clinton's agenda but she will also meet art students in Mexico City and hold a town-hall meeting in Monterey. | The issue will be high on Mrs Clinton's agenda but she will also meet art students in Mexico City and hold a town-hall meeting in Monterey. |
| The State Department said it was important to remember that Mexico was a large and vibrant democracy. Mexicans will be pleased to hear that. Many have protested at the depiction of their country as a failed state . | The State Department said it was important to remember that Mexico was a large and vibrant democracy. Mexicans will be pleased to hear that. Many have protested at the depiction of their country as a failed state . |
| 1111 EST No more GWOT? | 1111 EST No more GWOT? |
| Jon Donnison: In a city where the list of acronyms is endless, it seems the GWOT (or Global War on Terror) is out... and the OCO (or Overseas Contingency Operation) is in. | Jon Donnison: In a city where the list of acronyms is endless, it seems the GWOT (or Global War on Terror) is out... and the OCO (or Overseas Contingency Operation) is in. |
| According to a leaked Pentagon memo, OCO is the new less-than-catchy term that the administration should use to characterise America's fight against extremism around the world. A Pentagon official denies there is any specific change in policy, but many political observers here say GWOT has already all but disappeared from the Obama team's lexicon. | According to a leaked Pentagon memo, OCO is the new less-than-catchy term that the administration should use to characterise America's fight against extremism around the world. A Pentagon official denies there is any specific change in policy, but many political observers here say GWOT has already all but disappeared from the Obama team's lexicon. |
| Last month, the human rights group the International Commission of Jurists urged the new government to stop using the phrase "Global War on Terror", saying it gave "spurious justification to a range of human rights violations". | Last month, the human rights group the International Commission of Jurists urged the new government to stop using the phrase "Global War on Terror", saying it gave "spurious justification to a range of human rights violations". |
| The less-explicit OCO is unlikely to prove quite as controversial - or indeed memorable... | The less-explicit OCO is unlikely to prove quite as controversial - or indeed memorable... |
| TUESDAY 24 MARCH - DAY 64 | TUESDAY 24 MARCH - DAY 64 |
| 1640 EST Nationalisation still on the table? | 1640 EST Nationalisation still on the table? |
| Max Deveson: The news that the administration may ask Congress for new powers to take over ailing non-bank financial firms (like AIG) prompts Mother Jones magazine's Kevin Drum to make an observation . | Max Deveson: The news that the administration may ask Congress for new powers to take over ailing non-bank financial firms (like AIG) prompts Mother Jones magazine's Kevin Drum to make an observation . |
| If, three months ago, the White House had set out to make the nationalisation of big banks politically and legally possible, its actions would have looked very similar to what it has, in actual fact, been doing... | If, three months ago, the White House had set out to make the nationalisation of big banks politically and legally possible, its actions would have looked very similar to what it has, in actual fact, been doing... |
| 1502 EST Press conference thoughts | 1502 EST Press conference thoughts |
| In his blog, the BBC's North America Editor Justin Webb looks ahead to President Obama's prime time news conference this evening, and gives his readers a sneak preview of the question that he will ask if called. | In his blog, the BBC's North America Editor Justin Webb looks ahead to President Obama's prime time news conference this evening, and gives his readers a sneak preview of the question that he will ask if called. |
| MONDAY 23 MARCH - DAY 63 | MONDAY 23 MARCH - DAY 63 |
| 1226 EST Assets plan unveiled | 1226 EST Assets plan unveiled |
| James Coomarasamy: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has unveiled his plan to help resolve America's banking crisis. | James Coomarasamy: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has unveiled his plan to help resolve America's banking crisis. |
| Under the plan, the US Treasury would contribute up to $100bn of public money already assigned to bailing out the banks in order to buy out the toxic assets which are now on their books and which are still dissuading them from lending. | Under the plan, the US Treasury would contribute up to $100bn of public money already assigned to bailing out the banks in order to buy out the toxic assets which are now on their books and which are still dissuading them from lending. |
| That money would be supplemented in part by the private sector, which would also be involved in valuing those assets. | That money would be supplemented in part by the private sector, which would also be involved in valuing those assets. |
| Announcing the public-private investment program, the increasingly embattled Mr Geithner said the plan would involve private investors sharing the risks and the profits with the taxpayer. | Announcing the public-private investment program, the increasingly embattled Mr Geithner said the plan would involve private investors sharing the risks and the profits with the taxpayer. |
| Obama diary: Days 1-10 Obama diary: Days 11-20 Obama diary: Days 21-30 Obama diary: Days 31-40 Obama diary: Days 41-50 Obama diary: Days 51-60 Obama diary: Contributors | Obama diary: Days 1-10 Obama diary: Days 11-20 Obama diary: Days 21-30 Obama diary: Days 31-40 Obama diary: Days 41-50 Obama diary: Days 51-60 Obama diary: Contributors |