The political climate in the United States is not good at this time. There is too much divisiveness!

President Obama has just crossed the supposedly magical 100-day milestone after his inauguration, with pundits grading the president’s performance at the beginning of his term. As should be expected, Democratic admirers are quick to say he has done an excellent job in initiating new programs, calling for massive spending and conducting a breakneck personal sales effort to convince the public his plans are the only way to save the country.

Just as predictably, Republican opponents can’t find many good things to say about his efforts or find any possible accomplishments other than having created a massive debt that current and future generations will have to try to pay off. This debt will hang over all Americans for years to come.

One of the problems in trying to assess the Obama record is that so many of the figures tossed around by the president cannot be verified. The media, and millions of Americans, apparently are willing to buy into the numbers and claims made by the president and those on his sales team without any reservations.

He is an excellent, effective speaker, but how many times has he been challenged on various claims he makes on the effectiveness of his costly programs? He talks about the number of new jobs created, but he doesn’t say where. He said the same intelligence results could be gained without using waterboarding “torture” techniques, but doesn’t say how — and there is no proof he is right. He and his top followers, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Sen. Charles Schumer, all were adamant in saying the country “cannot allow bankruptcy” in the automobile business and that it was “never an option.” And there are many, many other examples in which there is little if any accountability for Obama’s figures and claims.

The one thing he has accomplished is to spend billions of dollars and to favor actions, using the current economic situation as an excuse, to move this country closer to a system of socialism rather than one of free enterprise. If not socialism, it certainly is nationalization of our financial institutions, the insurance business, health care and greater government control of education.

Again, Obama is a highly effective speaker and a smart, clever political operative. A good percentage of the public and media seem to be infatuated with him. Maybe part of the appeal and voter support was the public’s dislike of President Bush rather than support of Obama’s platform. Whatever the case, he’s in office and will use his large majorities in the Senate and House to change this country just about however he wishes.

It will be interesting to see how many of those who today are so proud to have bumper stickers favorable to Obama attached to their automobiles will want to be identified as Obama supporters three-plus years from now.

Will he have been successful in his efforts or will the country and its people be far worse off because of his economic, social, redistribution-of-wealth, foreign relations, health and education policies?

Obama’s record at the end of his first four years in office is far more important than the record for his first 100 days.