100 days

(whew! makes me tired just thinking about it)

The countdown is over. The 100 day mark is passed. President Obama has been busy, to say the least.

I won't go into all the details. Let's just hit some highlights:

• Implementing a huge stimulus package
• Signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act
• Changing stem cell research policy
• Opening the dialogue on health care
  
• Redefining our national image
• And, of course, choosing a puppy named Bo

I have also been busy during the past 100 days. Let's see ... I trimmed our shrubs. I vacuumed a couple of times. And I opened the dialogue with my husband about who should wash the dishes when the other person went to all the trouble of making dinner even though that person really hates to cook and besides she was exhausted from trimming the shrubs.

Obama was criticized during the campaign for having more style than substance. "Sure, he's a good speaker," some said. "But what has he actually done?"

That argument, me thinks, is now kaput.

In fact, Obama proves day after day that our words are as important as our actions. Our words affect what we do, who we are, and how we see the world.

If we call waterboarding "torture," we can admit that we went too far.

If we call salary discrimination "illegal," we increase the value of women in our society.

If we call ourselvers "listeners" at the G-20 Summit, we acknowledge that other people might have worthwhile things to say.

And if the only word you can come up with is "no," as seems to be the case with some Republicans lately, then I'm sorry but you just might be left behind. There's a new puppy in town, and the Obama girls are not the only ones who are smiling.

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