One Month and Counting

It's a month today since President Obama was inaugurated. His achievements for that tiny amount of time are remarkable, and the forward momentum remains considerable.

In terms of the past, he has reversed the slide into official disgrace represented by Guantanamo and torture, and his administration is busy reversing other destructive acts and trends of the Bushite years--though it's important to note that institutionally this will all take time, especially as Bushites are still burrowed deep in the bureaucracy and the judiciary.

For the future, the Recovery and Reinvestment Act gives muscle to the pronouncements and change in tone and trajectory, with promise of more to come. As the Sierra Club's Carl Pope writes, "There's never been a month -- not at least since the heady days of the early 1970s -- when environmental policy has moved so dramatically towards a sustainable future. The challenge now is to keep up the pace."

There are big problems and big programs in the next months, but I hope that the President can soon mobilize the spirit of service that he inspired in the campaign.