Obama Year One in Review -- From the Left

Tommy Christopher is Asylum's White House Correspondent. Today he looks back on the first year of Obama's term from a progressive perspective. Be sure to read Caleb Howe's rundown on the last year from a conservative point of view.

It's been more than a year since America stepped into history by electing its first black president, Barack Obama. A lot has happened since then, so to mark the occasion, we thought we would oversimplify the hell out of it. Here are some highlights from the past year of Obamamania.

Phase 1: The Pre-Presidency
After the echoes of the president's acceptance speech dissipated and the confetti was swept away, America began to swell with anticipation and political writers had to get used to appending every other word with "-elect" and "-designate." We were then treated to insanely detailed reports about Obama's every move, and learned that he goes to the gym an awful lot.

As the Bush presidency waned, the president-elect constantly had to remind everyone that there's only one president at a time. The incoming and outgoing administrations enjoyed great cooperation throughout that was marred only by the Bush administration's denial of the Obamas' request to use the visitor's quarters for a few days.

Phase 2: The Honeymoon
Better known as "The Inauguration." A lavish, if disorganized, affair, the president's initiation was quickly attacked by a UFO and a twice-botched swearing in. This would be the easiest day of the rest of his year.

Phase 3: The First 100 Days
The president's first 100 days were marked by a flurry of activity, as he signed the Economic Recovery Act, tried to find cabinet members who had paid their taxes, successfully weathered the Somali Pirate Crisis by staying out of the way, and survived "jacket-gate" and the Tea Party movement.

Phase 4: The Long, Lazy Summer
With nothing else to occupy their time, the media began to focus attention on a cadre of Obama opponents who took to the airwaves and town hall meetings to oppose both his legitimacy to hold office and his health-care plan.

Phase 5: War With Fox News
Just as the health-care debate started to heat up again, the White House began what has been dubbed a "war" with Fox News. Were they striking back against provocation or distracting Fox from the health-care debate? Either way, both missions were accomplished.