One of the smartest things said by any pundit on election night was Paul Begala's assertion that the incoming Obama administration needs to end all talk of "The First 100 Days," something that the media will be thrusting upon the new president continually, and has already done so.
Nearly every major news outlet currently has entire '100 Days' sections or headlines. Politico, for example calls it the '100 Day Sprint.'
Certainly, the first 100 days can be full of defining moments for the new administration, however I feel that the importance placed on the first 100 days is a creation by the media to create an ongoing story from which they can build a theme around which to write their stories until his 100th day in office has passed, and he is then judged on his accomplishments by the media.
All that encouraging '100 days' rhetoric will do is raise the media's expectations to unrealistic levels.
The problems America faces right now are larger than anything we have faced in generations, and cannot be solved in 100 days. The President talks about the need for long term and long lasting solutions in every speech he gives, and it was in fact the thesis of his inaugural address and much of his campaign.
Case in point:
Bloggers and the Netroots need to mobilize around this. The campaign is over, and now, for the first time ever, we need to help our President in a positive manner by helping to frame his message to the benefit of the Democratic Party and his agenda.
By rejecting and actively resisting the '100 days' frame and continuing to work toward change alongside the President during and beyond the first 100 days, we can ensure that we aren't distracted by the media's unrealistic expectations of him, and instead can focus on accomplishing our real, necessary, long term goals, which we and the President know, cannot be seen to fruition in a mere 100 days.
Don't play the MSM's game. Let's change it by rejecting their rhetoric.