At his inauguration on Jan. 20, President Barack Obama said that “We meet at one of those defining moments, a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil and the American promise has been threatened once more,” adding that the governmental and political action taken in Washington and former presidency were to blame.

But as he reaches his 100th day in office on Wednesday, local officials are evaluating his tactics to improve the state of the nation.

Fred Giertz, professor of economics, said he believes this is a two-fold economic issue.

“One of them is that there is a crisis within a financial sector and the other is the recession,” Giertz said. “Although they are closely related, the financial sector entails more of the bailing out of financial institutions.”

Giertz said his economic plan was the best action to take.

“I do believe a stimulus package was the right thing to do,” he added. “There is slightly less uncertainty of problems with the housing market and insurance. There is also greater stability in the banking sector since last fall.”

Still, not everyone is confident in Obama’s initiative toward improving the economy.

Brian Gaines, professor of political science, said he believes the president’s ambitious attitude toward spending “may be for good or for evil … we’ll see.” He added that time is what holds the fate of the recession in regards to whether his energy and health care programs will work.

“People who study this seriously with the public opinion data, who made a speciality of the presidential approval, find it usually lasts about seven months,” Gaines said. “So I think he’s got at least another 100 days in which a lead criticism will be somewhat muted.”

Another concern regarding Obama’s presidency is foreign policy competency.

“He’s not listening to generals,” Christian Ramirez, sophomore in AHS and a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. “They are experts of the military and he should try not to take too much control.”

He added that he fears Obama is making drastic decisions about the budget cuts and military decisions that could result in negative outcomes.

However, Carol Leff, associate professor in political science, said these changes are much ground to cover in a single leap. Specifically Leff referred to the United States’ relations with Cuba and new found traveling rights.

“Of course we don’t know if that will pay off or not, but I think it’s a sensible thing to do considering we haven’t had any success with our sanctions policy over the years,” Leff said.

Still, Giertz said it may be best to keep in mind that this is the first 100 days of a four-year term.

“We are really in uncharted territory, so the last 100 days aren’t as much in question as he next 100 days are,” he said. “If everything works, he’ll be a hero. If it doesn’t work, it will be frowned upon.”

Nicole Burnier contributed to this report