BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Democratic Party President Obama's Accomplishments

The purpose of this thread is to list accomplishments and works in progress initiated by Barack Obama since he took office. Many Americans feel he has not accomplished anything.Many things he has set in motion will take years to show benefits, as is true with any president's programs. But let's pitch in and try to show the doubters what he is doing for our country:

1. The day he took office, our image around the world improved for the better, which puts us in a better position to conduct diplomacy.

2. He called for the closure of the Guantanamo detention center within one year. Granted, this is proving difficult to actually orchestrate, but the intention and efforts to close the prison sends the message that our country plans to operate under the rule of law once again, which is very important to those people who value the Constitution.

3. He created a Special Task Force to review detainee policy going forward. Some are disappointed at the prospect of certain detainees still being kept without trail, but I believe the embedded policies of the Bush administration will be difficult to untangle. Picture one of your fine chain necklaces when it's all twisted up . . .

4. He ensured lawful interrogations by requiring that all interrogations of detainees in armed conflict follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines. That's a biggie, in my opinion.

5. He recently met with gay rights activists. While his promises to them about repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" and stopping the AIDS travel ban are still just promises, again, I think he is considering when it will be best to make such controversial changes -- certainly not right now, in the midst of the health care debate.

6. He has reintroduced a health care reform plan. Perhaps the number-one reason Americans who voted for him did so was because they wanted action on this issue.

7. He has changed the tone of our interactions with the rest of the world from "I name the rules, you take 'em or leave 'em" to "Let's work together."

8. He passed a stimulus bill that is getting roads and highways in my state repaired (I see the signs "Funded by Stimulus Bill"). To see what the stimulus funds are being used for in your sate, just google "stimulus bill funded projects in xxx."

I know a lot of these don't sound like "accomplishments" but, as I mentioned before, no president can make dramatic change in nine months. Washington is not set up that way.

I'm up to 8 -- please come help me out, friends of this forum!

A few things that I am very glad he passed:

About 80 billion dollars (from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) has been invested in renewable energy and clean energy jobs as well as weatherizing and greening federal and low income homes. This will save a great deal of money, resources and is an absolute necessity for the country with regard to future employment.

The credit card accountability act.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act - which of course put back into place protections against pay discrimination based on sex .

Thanks, Susan! Now we're up to eleven.

Some other accomplishments with regard to military issues:

co-signer of the post 9/11 GI bill (this he did as senator) and is now working with Secretary Shineski (sp?)to ensure its implentation. Many of the items in this bill will restore GI benefits that were taken away from those serving in our military by the last administration.

re-opened our allegiance with NATO - this is imperative if we are to be part of the world community.

Susan: I don't care if Obama worked with mother Theresa and and has a 180 IQ: What matters is allowing 25% of the unemployed ( those who defaulted on student loans) access to job training: DHS and the Unemployment office disqualify folks like myself from ALL job training programs- must be how they keep their social workers employed: it creates a permanent client base with minimal skills with no hope of work beyond minimum wage. Obama could change all that with an Executive Order- right now. Millions of americans would have their lives changed for the better. Will he do this? I don't think so.

Interesting enough that you think he can sign his name and change so much. I think it's a good thing that a president does not have that much power. Imagine if he did...the additional horror that could have been created with the previous administraion.

What would such an executive order consist of that would specifically put people such as yourself (and I am not really sure how you define this with regard to your employability) back to work? In what jobs?

The lack of jobs is a product of the last administation's lack of control of corporate greed, tax breaks for companies that wound up moving the majority of their jobs overseas as well as no insight for the future, plus allowing the stock market to deal in too much speculation rather than real money.

I sincerely doubt that any one thing will put 25 percent of the unemployed back to work with the stroke of a pen regardless of their circumstances. My husband has been laid off two years before being able to fully retire - who's going to hire him at this point in his life - can we afford this - absolutely not! I will be working well past "usual" retirement age to make up for this but I sure don't blame Obama - this has been brewing for years and years and it will take longer than 9 months to fix it.

I think you explained the situation well, Susan. Cindy, I think you are understandably looking for a scapegoat, because there are many things that need to change for you. As Dianne said, however, the president on his own cannot solve everything with the stroke of a pen.

We've all been trained to look at the present, the moment, the current "thing" for so long now by the media and the popular culture that it's hard to look at the present on a continuum along with the past and the future, to look at the big picture, to look at precursors and aftereffects. That kind of thinking will be required to solve the problems we are in as a country.

Couldn't agree more Susan. And I really feel that for us to advance again we will have to do so with a more people and community (world-wide) oriented governing style rather than the monetary (and power) based legislation that has ruled since the 1980s.

Susan: At age 47, the only hope I have of finding any job above flipping burgers or bagging groceries is to have some kind of job training- which DHS refuses to allow me. I suppose I should stay quiet and allow my social worker to cut our SNAP food credit whenever she feels like it, since I'm at her mercy anyway.
I was raised poor, so i'm used to it- its my husband I'm worried about- he was a successful businessman until his company went bankrupt when he was 64. We live on his SSI check- just barely.
I think its harder on him in some ways.