100th day of office?

April 29, 2009 7:41 AM

According to the calendar, April 28 is the 118th day of the year. If President Obama was inaugurated on January 20, the 20th day of the year, can anybody explain why the media is celebrating President Obama's 100th day on his 99th day?
posted by eaglehound to Law & Government (7 answers total)

They seem to be "celebrating" it today, no? While some articles were online yesterday, from what I can tell they were in today's print editions. And today's the 29th.
posted by inigo2 at 7:46 AM on April 29, 2009

I think - even before the New Deal - the notion of 100 days as a marker for achievement seems to stem back to the "Cent Jours" between March 20th 1815, when Napoleon arrived back in Paris from exile on Elba - and July 8th, when King Louis XVIII was restored to the throne.

Since this was actually 111 days perhaps a little inaccuracy was built in from the start.
posted by rongorongo at 7:59 AM on April 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

His press conference for the 100 days is tonight, the 29th.
posted by smackfu at 8:00 AM on April 29, 2009

I think inigo2 has it, but counting is hard. See also, Obama is the 44th US president (meaning that his is the 44th presidency), but he's the 43d person to be president.
posted by Xalf at 8:07 AM on April 29, 2009

Actually, April 29 isn't the 99th day -- it's the 100th day.

January 20 was Day 1.
January 31 was Day 12.
February 28 was Day 40.
March 31 was Day 71.
April 29 is Day 100.

That's why it's being celebrated today.
posted by Tin Man at 10:59 AM on April 29, 2009

This is a perfect example of a fencepost error.
posted by randomstriker at 12:48 PM on April 29, 2009

I know the query's already resolved and I am late, nevertheless, here is a more detailed explanation and method to avoid all future fencepost errors.
posted by forwebsites at 3:28 AM on April 30, 2009