First hundred hours.

Sounds like Obama's plans for Guantanamo Bay go beyond the 120 day suspension.

White House Counsel Greg Craig went to Capitol Hill today to brief members of Congress about the three executive orders President Obama will sign tomorrow.

According to a former Hill aide, the orders will:

∙ close the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay within a year and establish a process by which the U.S. government figures out what to do with the remaining detainees;
∙ establish new rules on interrogation methods moving forward;
∙ establish new guidelines for the treatment of detainees moving forward.

Taking a page out of Pelosi's 2006 playbook, it sounds like the new administration will hit the ground running. While he certainly won't be able to achieve as much as the 110th Congress did in the same time frame, his efforts so far have impressed both supporters and detractors.

However, to step back for a moment: President Obama is drawing praise not for doing anything politically risky or innovative. What he is drawing praise for is his decision to do what is right.

That's a depressing thought -- to think that we, as a nation, are so far gone that living up to our moral, ethical, and humanistic standards is now worthy of high praise.

We've got a long way to go. Let's hope that today is the first of many steps in the right direction.

(Oh, and Chief Justice Roberts? Sorry, but the only person that gets to end sentences with the word "faithfully" is Steve Perry.)

PowerPlay Presidency

Yes, I'm addicted to hockey.

And yes, the San jose Sharks are the best team currently in the NHL.

But this isn't about hockey, though it really should be. This isn't about sports. This is about momentum.

I really like the way this presidency is going. Not just because of who's now sitting at the White House Oval Office. Or how the economy does in the near future.

Obama ordered a halt to all proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, making good on his campaign promises against torture. He also froze the wages of senior WH officials, showing a real commitment to get to the bottom of the economic crisis. He's got a top-notch team, and guess what? He's neither too arrogant nor too dumb to NOT listen and critically evaluate everything that these people have to say.

In that ridiculous Gergen book Eyewitness to Power, he makes a big deal about the first 100 days. As much as I can't stand the book as a love-song to Richard Nixon, it makes really great points about the Big-Mo. Obama's got the first real chance the Dems have had in a VERY, VERY long time to make change. Yeah, yeah, it's only been 8 (very very long, seemingly endless) years since Clinton, but Clinton didn't have a supportive, soundly Democratic Congress during all 8 years of his presidency. Clinton, as smooth and suave as he was/is, didn't have Obama's ROCKSTAR status. I really wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, the "Chuck Norris" jokes give way to "Barack Obama" jokes.

Barack Obama is so bad-ass, he go turn the U.S. back on the right track.

And that's what last-minute OT Power Plays are for. It's about damn time, America.