Monday, July 30, 2007

Foreign policy

Foreign policy
Main article: Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
In February and March, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in U.S. foreign relations with Russia and Europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration.[138] Obama's granting of his first television interview as president to an Arabic cable network, Al Arabiya, was seen as an attempt to reach out to Arab leaders.[139]

On March 19, Obama continued his outreach to the Muslim world, releasing a New Year's video message to the people and government of Iran.[140] This attempt at outreach was rebuffed by the Iranian leadership.[141] In April, Obama gave a speech in Ankara, Turkey, which was well received by many Arab governments.[142] On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt calling for "a new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States and promoting Middle East peace.[143]

On June 26, 2009, in response to the Iranian government's actions towards protesters following Iran's 2009 presidential election, Obama said: "The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. We see it and we condemn it."[144] On July 7, while in Moscow, he responded to a Vice President Biden comment on a possible Israeli military strike on Iran by saying: "We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East."[145]

On September 24, 2009, Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[146]

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Economic management

Economic management
On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession. He made a high-profile visit to Capitol Hill to engage with Congressional Republicans, but the bill ultimately passed with the support of only three Republican senators.[121] The act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals,[122] which is being distributed over the course of several years, with about 25% due by the end of 2009. In June, Obama, unsatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus investment, called on his cabinet to accelerate the spending over the next weeks.[123]


President Barack Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.In March, Obama's Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, took further steps to manage the financial crisis, including introducing the Public-Private Investment Program, which contains provisions for buying up to $2 trillion in depreciated real estate assets that were deemed to be weighing down stock valuations, freezing the credit market and delaying economic recovery. On March 23, The New York Times noted that "(i)nvestors reacted ecstatically, with all of the major stock indexes soaring as soon as the markets opened."[124] Along with spending and loan guarantees from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, about $11.5 trillion had been authorized by the Bush and Obama administrations, with $2.7 trillion actually spent by the end of June 2009.[125]

Obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry[126] in March, renewing loans for General Motors and Chrysler Corporation to continue operations while reorganizing. Over the following months the White House set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including the sale of Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat[127] and a reorganization of GM giving the U.S. government a temporary 60% equity stake in the company, with the Canadian government shouldering a 12% stake.[128] He also signed into law the Car Allowance Rebate System, known colloquially as "Cash for Clunkers" bill, on August 7, 2009.[129]

In the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.8% annual pace.[130] Obama has claimed that the stimulus package helped stop the economic downturn.[131] Various economists have credited the stimulus package with helping to create economic growth.[132][133] However, unemployment has continued to rise to 10.2% (the highest in 26 years),[134] and the "underemployment" rate rose to 17.5%.[135] In mid-November, Obama said he was concerned that the excessive deficit spending could cause the economy to slide into a "double dip" recession.[136][137]

Friday, July 20, 2007

Domestic policy

Domestic policy
Presidental styles of
Barack Obama


Reference style The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States
Spoken style President Obama
Alternative style Mr. President
On January 29, 2009, Obama signed his first bill into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which overruled the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and so eased the requirements for filing employment discrimination lawsuits.[113] Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured.[114]

In March 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells. Although such research had been a matter of debate, Obama stated that he believed "sound science and moral values...are not inconsistent," and that we have "the humanity and conscience" to pursue this research responsibly, pledging to develop "strict guidelines" to ensure that.[115]

On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. Sotomayor was confirmed on August 6, 2009 by a vote of 68-31,[116] becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice. She joins Ruth Bader Ginsburg as one of two women on the Court and is the third woman ever to be a Justice.[117]

On September 30, 2009, the Obama administration proposed new regulations on power plants, factories and oil refineries in an attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to curb global warming.[118][119][120]

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Presidency, First days

Presidency
Main article: Presidency of Barack Obama
See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet and List of presidential trips made by Barack Obama

Barack Obama takes the oath of office of the president of the United States.

First days
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President, and Joe Biden as Vice President, took place on January 20, 2009. In his first few days in office Obama issued executive orders and presidential memoranda directing the U.S. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq,[108] and ordered the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp "as soon as practicable and no later than" January 2010.[109] Obama also reduced the secrecy given to presidential records[110] and changed procedures to promote disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.[111] The president also reversed George W. Bush's ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions (known as the Mexico City Policy and referred to by critics as the "Global Gag Rule").[112]

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

2008 presidential campaign

2008 presidential campaign
Main articles: United States presidential election, 2008, Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008, and Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008

Obama stands on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential candidacy in Springfield, Illinois, Feb. 10, 2007.On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for president of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois.[90][91][92] The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic[90][93] because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858.[92] Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence and providing universal health care.[94]


Obama delivers his presidential election victory speech in Grant Park.A large number of candidates entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. The field narrowed to a duel between Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process but with Obama gaining a steady lead in pledged delegates due to better long-range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing in caucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules.[95] On June 3, with all states counted, Obama was named the presumptive nominee[96] and delivered a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.[97]


President George W. Bush meets with President-Elect Obama in the Oval Office on November 10, 2008.Obama proceeded to focus on the general election campaign against Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, in the lead up to the Democratic National Convention. He announced on August 23, 2008, that he had selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.[98] At the convention, held August 25 to August 28 in Denver, Colorado, Hillary Clinton called for her delegates and supporters to endorse Obama, and she and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches in support of Obama.[99] Obama delivered his acceptance speech to over 75,000 supporters and presented his policy goals; the speech was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide.[100]

During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations.[101] On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.[102]

After McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate, three presidential debates were held between the contenders spanning September and October 2008.[103] In November, Obama won the presidency with 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7%,[104] and 365 electoral votes to 173,[105] to become the first African American[106] to be elected president. Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.[107]

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Committees

Committees
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006.[86] In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.[87] He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs.[88] As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He met with Mahmoud Abbas before he became President of the Palestinian Authority, and gave a speech at the University of Nairobi condemning corruption in the Kenyan government.[89]

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Legislation

Legislation
See also: List of bills sponsored by Barack Obama in the United States Senate

Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Obama discussing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act[69]Obama voted in favor of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.[70] In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act.[71] Obama introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons,[72] and the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending.[73] On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama, along with Senators Thomas R. Carper, Tom Coburn, and John McCain, introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.[74]


Obama and U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility in August 2005.[75]Obama sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Senate after being heavily modified in committee.[76] Obama is not hostile to tort reform and voted for the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which grants immunity from civil liability to telecommunications companies complicit with NSA warrantless wiretapping operations.[77]

In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.[78] In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007.[79] Obama also introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections[80] and the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007,[81] neither of which has been signed into law.

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges.[82] This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008.[83] He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which has not passed committee, and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[84] Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[85]