Ever since the blizzard of reform measures during the opening days of FDR’s first term, a President’s “First Hundred Days” have become a gauge for predicting ultimate success or failure. Our class will begin about two thirds of the way through this period, providing opportunities to assess progress to date and determine what else might be in the pipeline, together with an analysis of likely success.

Biden likely faced the most difficult set of issues confronting an incoming President since Lincoln, further hampered by the outgoing administration’s unwillingness to assist an orderly transition. How has the new team addressed the threat of the ongoing Coronavirus and the challenges of setting a new foreign policy?

More than a quarter of Biden appointees (1,250 out of 4,000) require security clearances and Senate confirmation...is Mitch still the “grim reaper” or have the two been able to revisit their previous working arrangements?

How much has the Biden team been able to restore direction and morale among the 2 million or more employees in agencies and offices hollowed out during the past four years?

Have these early days offered hope for healing our divisions or are we doomed to further frustration and intransigence?

These and other questions will command our attention. Although the “First Hundred Days” may have become an artificial standard, we must remember that the Election was only one round in the ongoing struggle for the soul of our democracy.