Obama’s To-Do list
With all the sudden controversy and grumbling in the Muslim blogosphere, barely 7 days after everyone celebrated the election of a not-Muslim-but-lived-with-them-and-sympathetic black President, I think we need to make some things clear. Obama is not going to be the perfect candidate, Muslims were being killed by America’s actions before, and still will under Obama, but the hope is that he will steer America to a path where it does less harm.
I decided to make a list of campaign promises that Obama made, to help us judge how big of a difference he made and whether he kept to his word. This will help prove skeptics right/wrong, depending on how he performs. Feel free to suggest more and I’ll add to it. In addition, I will strike them off as he completes them (although some will take longer than others, even as long as 2 terms).
- End war in Iraq by removing all combat troops by 2010
- Dismantle any permanent bases in Iraq
- Spend $2 billion on Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries
- Meet directly with Iran, N Korea, and Cuba
- Make progress on Israel-Palestine Conflict
- Reduce tuition by reforming financial aid and with $4000 tax credit
- Destroy Al Qaeda and Defeat Terrorism Worldwide
- Teach the US military to understand different cultures and languages
- Curtail lobbyist power
- Be bipartisan
- Healthcare reform
- Give healthcare coverage to every child
- Work to decrease abortions
- Close Guantanamo
- Ban torture and waterboarding
- Stop warrantless wiretapping
- Net neutrality
- Invest in green technology
- Carbon Cap and trade
- Make 10% of America’s electricity from renewable energy by 2012
- Improve Public Health and Preventative medicine
- Immigration reform
- Middle-class tax cuts
- Political appointees for merit-based reasons instead of party loyalty
- Work to end genocide in Darfur
- Cut extreme poverty around the world in half by 2015 by doubling foreign assistance to $50 billion
- Increase funding to First Responders (Firefighters, Ambulance, etc)
- Increase minimum wage to $9.50/hour by 2011
- Expand Hate Crime laws
- End Racial Profiling
- Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
- Bring science back into the White House
- Separate church and state
- Remove legal immunity for Military Contractors
The fine print: Keep in mind that these are things he either said on the campaign trail or posted on his campaign website.
I’ve discovered that his website is crammed with promises and ideas, so I’m only listing the ones that I think interest readers, and ignoring ones that don’t affect me, e.g. senior citizen care. Maybe in 4 years I’ll draw them all several hundred up and see how many he’s lived up to, maybe make a percentage he kept.
Sulayman
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