Tuesday our country chose what will be our 44th president, Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden. The election was a quick win with Obama holding 364 of the electoral votes to Arizona senator, John McCain’s 162. Obama will be the nation’s first black president. Also in a line of firsts Obama is the first President to be born in Hawaii, the first president elected from Illinois since Ulysses S. Grant, and the first Northern Democrat elected since Kennedy. (New York Times)The transition for Obama is going to be easy with the aid of the Bush administration. As Bush said Wednesday, “[Obama] can count on complete cooperation from my administration as he makes the transition to the White House.” I think its finally time to see that maybe Bush is going to be positively known for at least one thing, aiding Obama to make his transition as easy as easy and smooth as possible. The Bush administration has been gearing up to make the new presidential changeover for about a year now.
But with everything the country is facing, the economy and foreign relation problems, will Obama be able to fulfill his promises he made to the country during his election. Many think the economy will interfere with his heath care plan and who really knows how long it will take to get out of Iraq. Is Obama going to be able to hold true to his promises that got him elected in the first place?
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Although I don't see how President Bush can do anything but cooperate, based on the law, it is nice to think that he will be open to sharing information with Barack Obama before he takes his place in the Oval Office. This way Barack Obama will know all that he needs after the inauguration.
Like Alyssa, I am skeptical about Obama's ability to fulfill his promises in light of the current economic situation. His health care program proposes an extra 860 Billion dollars in spending, and I don't believe that tax revenue can cover all of that. Our large national debt is a huge problem, and if we do not get out of Iraq as soon as possible, I fear that it could grow larger. Although I do not know if Obama can fix our economy, our health care system and our international standing at the same time, I do believe that these are all important goals that must be resolved sometime soon.
I agree with Nico. It is unrealistic to expect Obama to fulfill all of his campaign promises. Usually, citizens can expect at least some of the promises candidates make to go unanswered. That is, we can expect most, if not all, presidential candidates to run on SOME empty promises. However, I think, given the condition of the economy and national debt, Obama will have an especially difficult time fulfilling the promises he made while he was campaigning. That being said, I don't think Obama will do nothing either. I think that, while he intends to do as he promised, certain conditions just won't allow him. I think Obama-and the American people-will have to settle for some middle ground.
I agree with both Nico and Peter that it's unrealistic to expect Obama to fulfill all of his campaign promises, just as it is with any presidential candidate (John McCain included). However, I do feel confident that Obama will do his best to help America endure the hurdles it will face in the coming months and years.
Because nobody can predict the events of the future, none of us can be too sure about the fate of Obama’s presidency. However, I feel confident in Obama’s abilities because he is already naming his cabinet and doing intense preparation for his time in office. It was evident in his acceptance speech that Obama wasn't going to spend time reveling in his status as a historical president-elect. Instead, he was business like in detailing his approach to getting our country back on track.
I beleieve that the initiative that President Bush took to pass the new law concerning information sharing during the exchange of office is fantastic. I aggree with Nico that there is no time for Obama to catch up once his term starts, and that it is crucial he be informed beforehand. As far as campaign promises go, he will of course not be able to make any of the promises the way he proposed them. There will be concessions that are made and some things may not get passed at all. However, I aggree with David that Obama will work tirelessly to do what he sees is best for America. That is why Obama was elected: because of his ideals and how he will approach the issues.
As with all politicians, more is promised in the campaign than is accomplished in office. Obviously compromises and concessions need to be made in order to get legislation passed. The economic crisis will make it extremely difficult to fulfill all promises and priorities must be set. Obama is in a good position politically due to the Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. His selection of Rahm as chief of staff was brilliant because Rahm excels at keeping Democrats voting along party lines. I am interested to see how Obama does.
Promises as large as those Obama has proposed are always hard to keep. Many presidents never fulfill all of their goals in one term alone. Although I do like many of Obama's plans for the future, I really don't he will implement all of them any time soon. The economic crisis must come first, and will stay in Obama's mind for a lengthy amount of time. As Nico stated, the Iraqi war will also be a major problem to address. For the issues that don't require immediate attention, Obama will probably keep them to the side until the major deterrents are solved.
Nevertheless, I have faith in Obama and hope he does well in getting America's act together in the global market and foreign affairs. Perhaps he will have spare time to look at the smaller matters and deal with them accordingly.
If Barak Obama is able to keep even half of the promises he made during this campaign, then we might witness one of the most successful and influential presidents of all time. That being said, the unexpected circumstances that occur in the future will change Obama's ability to follow through on every promise. Look at what happened to Bush with 9/11 and Katrina.
There is a saying that goes, "If you want G-d to laugh, tell him your plans."
I think it is great that President Bush is very cooperative with Obama and is willing to share information with him before he takes office in the White House.
I also agree with Alyssa when it comes to questioning whether Obama can actually fulfill the promises that he continuously asserted during the campaign trail because of all the proposed increased spending. It is usually very unrealistic for a candidate to fulfill all of the promises he makes during the campaign season and I do not expect Obama to be able to accomplish all that he has talked about. However, I do hope that he is able to prioritize the goals and effectively distribute spending and time so the important issues are accounted for.
Obama will never be able to fulfill all of his promises because they are all extremely expensive and in many ways unrealistic. However, the majority of his plans not becoming reality is good for America in the long run. If all his his plans were to pass, we'd be seeing a country where the lazy and uneducated get more benefits than those who actually work hard to educate themselves and get high paying jobs. Not to say that all of his plans are terrible, but a majority of them can drastically change the interpretation of the "American Dream."
i think obama will do great!! but time will only tell. as far as all of his policies and plans, i think it will take atleast two years before he can implement them.
I agree with Katherine in that many of Obama's goals are long term. Some may even be impossible to complete in his allotted four years, and Obama may need another term to complete all that he wants to. That being said, I believe that it's not necessarily a bad thing that Obama has more goals than he can possibly accomplish. It beats not having enough things to do, right?
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