After suffering through eight years of the Bush Administration Democrats can rejoice, not only because we have elected a Democratic president, but that this president is actually working to fulfill his campaign promise of change. Our new President, Barack Obama has already accomplished much in the short time he's been in office

 

On his first day he called in advisers to begin dealing with war and the recession. Obama called leaders of Israel, the Palestine Authority, Egypt and Jordan.

Breaking with Bush policies, President Obama has ordered major changes that would halt the torture of suspects, close down the Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and fight terrorism "in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals."


The president froze salaries for top White House staff members and ordered new lobbying rules for "a clean break from business as usual." He also unveiled ethics rules stating that "the way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable."

To deliver on his pledge of a transparent government, Obama said he would change the way the federal government interprets the Freedom of Information Act, that it should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.  What a wonderful change from the past!

On January 29, 2009, the very first bill President Obama signed was the  Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act saying,  "It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign - we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness."

Don't you just love this man?  And one gets the impression he's just getting warmed up.

He's already made many changes that are dear to my heart, but perhaps my favorite change was evidenced on what was not a very good day for President Obama. On the same day that  Senator Tom Daschle withdrew his name for secretary of health and human services, Nancy Killefer withdrew hers for consideration as the federal government's chief performance officer. Both Daschle and Killefer dropped out because of their failures to pay all of their federal taxes.

While his detractors prepared to throw barbs, Obama stepped forward, took full responsibility and apologized, saying simply, "I screwed up." I have no doubt that somewhere Harry Truman was smiling because the U.S. finally has a president again who understands that, "The buck stops here." In President Obama's  Inaugural address, he said,  "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility." It is obvious that those weren't just empty words.

Obama has even tried to live up to his pledge of bipartisanship. If he has erred at all, it was in believing that the Republicans in Congress would grasp and accept this idea.

When presenting his original economic stimulus plan, compromises were made to make the package more palatable to Republicans so that it could pass as a bipartisan plan. It passed, but not one single Republican in the House voted for it. I could hardly believe what I was hearing as they sang their same old song of "tax cuts." Tax cuts? For the wealthy I assume.

When the bill reached the Senate, Republicans and even some Democrats stalled the bill because of "the cost." Yes, the cost. So more changes were made to make it acceptable until three Republicans finally agreed to vote for it.

Do GOP legislators have any memory of the monstrosity called the Iraq War? Which, by the way, still piles up death, destruction, and debt daily.  How about bailing out the banking industry? I guess it's not "socialism" if it helps the rich.

 

I think I have this figured out. Apparently, there's a huge epidemic of mass amnesiaWashington. They seem to have forgotten that we've done the tax cut thing for eight long years and the only thing that's trickled down is debt and despair.

They also seem to have forgotten that just last November the people spoke- loud and clear. As President Obama said in his Inaugural address, "They have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

I'm sure that that the job losses, home foreclosures, and rising health care costs are touching Americans everywhere regardless of their party affiliation. Our new president is working for all Americans. among the Republicans in

 

It is my hope and dream that all of our U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators will join him in working for the good of our country.












his is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.