- Froze the salaries for top White House staff members. This is a largely symbolic act, but might be an important one.
- Set a deadline for the closing of Guantanamo Bay. Some of his supporters would say this is a great thing because they believe it operates as something from the Dark Ages. Others believe this characterization to not be true, and that no plan will be put place to determine what to do with the prisoners. Time will tell.
- Fast-tracked the process to apply new fuel standards to 2011 car models AND initiated steps to allow California to set its own standards for auto emissions that are stricter than that of the Federal government. Again, this is a measure that some of his supporters hail as a grand step forward, while his detractors (or flamers) point out that it could provide an additional severe drag on the economy, especially in car manufacturing areas.
- Signed a detailed executive order to ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
- Asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military draw down from Iraq.
- Released the interrogation memos without consulting the Bush staff and/or Bush about it. And they were only partially released some of the information in the memos were not made public.
- Signed an executive order that restored a 30-day time frame for former presidents to review records before they are released. It also eliminated the right for the vice president or family members of former presidents to do the reviews.
- Signed an executive order that requires that appointees sign forms saying that they were not hired because of political affiliations or contributions. This is far from an unbeatable measure, but is an important early step towards cleaning up governmental hiring policies. It is easier to prove someone lied when their signature is right next to the statement in question.
- Signed an order banning gifts from lobbyists and banning anyone from working in an agency they had lobbied in previous years. Promptly made the order toothless by immediately granting a waiver to a former defense lobbyist.
- Lifted a ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information.
- Granted his first TV interview as president to Al-Arabiya, a channel described as a "voice of moderation" to the Middle East. His supporters call this a very smart move to help angered nations and groups feel a bit less cast aside, and let them know that they need not resort to violence to be made a part of the world discussion. Detractors point out that this is the type of thing Neville Chamberlain would have done, though a TV interview and "the Munch Agreement" are leagues apart.
In his first 7 months in office
- He's done quite a lot actually.
- He has so far passed an economic recovery bill which has met mixed criticism but is slowly progressing. He has passed the AMD Stabilization and Support bill which was tailored to help stabilize and strengthen the United States Military, and has shown improvement within the standard. President Obama has also been working on other proposals, bills, and acts to be passed on topics such as Health Care reform, Education, the Mortgage crisis, the war on Al-Qaeda, and Domestic policy.
- Promised to send additional troops to Afghanistan in March and began the pullout of troops in Iraq.
- Passed the bailout of the auto industry and pressured their management to tow the party line.
- Waffled on sending troops and allowed those serving no suffer from lack of support. (If you had to send 30,000 Americans to a war zone I bet you would hesitate unless I realized lives were at stake and I was in charge)
- Refused to allow open meetings regarding health care reform as promised.
- Passed more tax increases on middle America than any other President.
- Encouraged Cap and trade passage to increase demand of foreign oil and raise the cost of our supply. (How does cap and trade increase demand? (See discussion))
- Promised to make tough decisions regarding the ability to continue paying medicare payments. Cutting $400 billion from their budget.
- Insulted police doing their jobs making the office look foolish. (How? (See discussion)
First Year:
- Sent troops to Afghanistan but pulled troops out of Iraq (What planet? He has nt pulled out of Iraq!) we are now at 115,000 troops as of 2/11/2010! Zero actual draw down.
- Made a more transparent form of Government (almost daily daily Facebook Q&A's with his staff) Has had more closed door meetings then any previous administration. Even his open door committee only has closed door meetings!
- Tried several times to get the Republicans to join him and get bi-partizanship on the destruction of democracy. Republicans did not wish to contribute!
- Passed a stimulus package that is creating no jobs across the country. This bill has given more to the rich then every previous President combined!
- Well on his way to passing the HC bill which will ration health care to most Americans and help less then 12 million. The cost will destroy our children's and grand children's future.
- Managed to have the two worst months for deficit spending ever. (The two Februarys he has been President)
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_has_President_Barack_Obama_done_so_far#ixzz1CwdC5z3r
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