![]() To be sure, the hundred days mythology will die hard. In particular, successful presidencies-even those with rocky launches-have begun with the passage of a major economic plan that can both set the ideological tenor of an administration and, if it spurs recovery and growth, create space both politically and fiscally to achieve other goals in subsequent years. Instead, they should prioritize key, substantial issues. Given all this, it is time for presidents and their aides to stop trying to amass a list of accomplishments that can be rolled out for the news media at the start of May. “…it’s a myth that presidents succeed through good public relations.” A reputation for facility with communication follows from a record of achievement, not the other way around. ![]() On the contrary, those presidents whom we recall as skilled communicators are typically remembered that way only because they actually accomplished things. Above all, it’s a myth that presidents can succeed through good public relations. All modern presidents go through ups and downs, periods of positive and negative coverage, none of which matter much in the long run. Historically, that arbitrary benchmark has rarely correlated with the subsequent success or failure of a president’s time in office. At least since FDR, moreover, presidents have intently followed the media’s short-term judgments about success and failure-leading to overweening attention to favorability ratings, the tenor of insider opinion, and whether the president had “a good week.” Moved by such concerns, presidents and their staffs have bought into the hundred days mythology, working hard to ensure positive headlines when the deadline comes around.īut presidents and their staffs would be wise to pay a bit less attention to the hype about the first hundred days. A rookie president, entering office with as much goodwill as he (or she) is ever likely to enjoy, has room to maneuver and opportunities to act that seldom last long. That early record is even said to foretell the overall fortunes of an entire presidency. Since the landmark opening sessions of Franklin Roosevelt’s first term, presidents and the news media have touted the first hundred days of a new administration as a precious window during which ambitious goals might be achieved or forsaken. Realize that FDR's unprecedented first hundred days cannot be replicated.Stop trying to amass a list of quick accomplishments.Pay less attention to the hype over the first hundred days.
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