It may not be completely fair to judge a president of a nation by the first 100 days of his presidency. However, historians say that the first 100 days contain the seeds of either heights of greatness or depths of disillusionment.

President Obama’s fans are currently gloating about his healthy approval ratings at the 100-day mark. But, Stephen Knott, an associate professor of national security studies at the United States Naval War College, cautions that former President George W. Bush had a 58 percent approval rating after 100 days in office – and that plunged later on.

What could haunt Obama’s presidency? What could derail his ambitious agenda? Acording to analysts, this could be the investigation of torture techniques used on terrorism suspects during the Bush administration.

“If the country is focused on the Bush torture program all summer it is going to be a huge distraction,” said Larry Berman, a professor of political science at UC Davis who teaches a course on Obama’s first 100 days. “The people who don’t realize this, I think, are the people who supported Obama from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.”