Obama and the First 100 Days

Much has been said and written about President Obama's first 100 days in office. A couple of things from a small business perspective:

In general...
1. Great leadership out the gate to create the sense of urgency about our problems in this country and the need to get out of denial about fixing them.

2. Good progress on putting together an active, focused agenda that will get us results in the long run on key infrastructure, healthcare, education, and the environment.

3. Fabulous performances on the world stage to engage the international community and prove that we're not just a bunch of "crazy cowboys" in the United States who don't really give a damn about they think about our policies and responsibilities to the rest of the world.

On business...
1. Strong encouragement, good messaging, and ongoing use of the bully pulpit to bring attention to the struggles of everyday Americans and the small business owners who are creating most of the jobs in this country.

2. Not enough "holding feet to the fire" on dealing with the banks. As Barry Moltz said to me via Twitter earlier this week, "It's a long way from Obama's mouth to the banker's pen!" The credit markets remain completely frozen and the banks are still not lending enough to get this economy back on track.

3. Nice balance between the "doom and gloom" of the economic realities that we're facing and the "be strong, be confident, be optimistic" about the future. A lot of Americans are feeling more hopeful about the future, and I'd like to confident that those sentiments will translate into real dollars for me and my business.

I think I'm going to send the president a letter. He needs to hear my story firsthand.