The first 100 days - or the last 100

By Ira Chernus

Looking back on Barack Obama's first post-election interview with 60 Minutes, no one should be surprised that he admitted he's reading about Franklin D Roosevelt's first 100 days in office. In fact, the president-elect - evidently taking no chances - is reportedly reading two books: Jonathan Alter's The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope and Jean Edward Smith's FDR. As he told 60 Minutes, his administration will emulate FDR's "willingness to try things and experiment … If something doesn't work, [we're] gonna try something else until [we] find something that does." That's one reason Obama, like FDR, has claimed that he wants advisors who will offer him a wide variety of viewpoints.

Not too wide, however. In his first 100 days, Roosevelt made it clear that he - like Obama - considered himself a reformer, but distinctly not a radical. He certainly didn't intend to use the economic crisis of 1932 to create a society of full economic equality and social justice. He just wanted to make sure that every American had at least a bare minimum of economic security.