obama 9

17,000 troops will be deployed to Afghanistan soon to join the 38,000 there after President Obama okayed the plan today. 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and 4,000 Army troops from Fort Lewis, Washington are expected to be the first to leave. 5,000 more are expected to follow some time soon. The troops are supposed to train Afghanistan groups and stop foreign armies from entering the country. They will mainly be stationed in the Southern part of the country by Pakistan.

obama 8

Obama is creating a task force to help loan out over 17 billion dollars to GM and Chrysler in federal loans. He's putting the problem into the hands of people who would be more likely to be able to solve it than he. The task force will be run by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, although its members will include people from 9 different departments, offices and councils. They are working with the car companies mostly on how they would repay the loans.

obama 7?

The stimulus bill that Obama directed passed in the Senate yesterday with all of its modifications. The final bill was 787 billion dollars with about $120 for infrasturcture, over $100 billion for education, $30 billion for energy-related, 'green' jobs, $212 billion on tax cuts and $267 billion on food stamps and other unemployment benefits. Most people will get a $400 tax credit.
The passage of the bill is a major step for Obama because it shows that he is very much in control still. His honeymoon is not over and in fact, this might have extended it.

Also, the cabinet Obama appointed is making headway in other areas. Clinton is working with China, Japan, Russia, North Korea and South Korea on North Korea's nuclear program and on a peace treaty. She also wants to talk about economic recovery and the global warming trend with all of them.

obama 7

The 838 billion dollar version of the stimulus bill passed in the Senate. There were three Republican senators that voted for it, along with the Democrats. It's a good step for Obama because it shows that he still has support, even from the rival Republicans. Good Cheif Legislator work. He's also been working on the public's opinion with town hall meetings in a few states so far.

obama 6

Obama has decided to wait to withdraw troups from Iraq until he knows exactly what would happen if he did. He's asking the advice of two Pentagon officials. There are three plans to withdraw troups that they are considering, including one 16 week plan, one 19 week plan and one 23 week plan. Obama is acting very maturely as Commander in Cheif to make sure his decisions aren't too rash and too forward. He's also waiting on sending troups to Afghanistan. I think it's good to wait to make sure that he's doing the right thing. He's smart. But if he goes back too much on his word that he gave during his campaign he could lose a lot of support quickly. The 16 week plan goes best with his originial goals, but we'll just have to wait. :)

obama 5

ps// I do not think that Obama's 'honeymoon' is over like we watched in that video today. The book said a honeymoon is around 100 days, and it's been only around 3 weeks. He hasn't lost that much support already, especially because Democrats are still voting with him on legislation. The Stimulus package will be a huge step forward or a huge step back, but right now I don't think it's fair or legitimate to say that he's lost popularity and that his honeymoon is over. I think Obama is going to be a good president.

obama 4

Obama signed a bill yesterday to give healthcare to nearly 4 million children. The law raised cigarette taxes by 62% and raised the funding to approximately $60 billion. It passed in the house with a 290-135 vote and in the Senate with a 66-32 vote before it was signed by Obama. 9 Republicans in the Senate voted for it. The bill puts the country on the way to providing healthcare for everyone that needs it, something that most Republicans are against and call socialism, but which in reality is one of the most important things to have. If a country cannot provide care for its population, having the techniques to cure people does no good. If it does not reach the people why would we invest in it at all? I think the bill is a step in the right direction.

obama 3

Obama and Congress are working to cut pay raises and bonused given to CEO's and executives. The attention given to this even started when Obama found out about 18 million dollars in bonuses issued on Wall Street while the firms were tanking and using billions of US government dollars to help their companies. The government plans to put the dealing of bonuses more into the hands of shareholders than it had been before. I think it's good that they're thinking of additional ways to save money and the economy besides the economic stimulus package. They're mixing and matching.

obama2

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

In this video Obama talks about many of his roles as president, including Commander in Cheif, Cheif Executive and Cheif Legislature. And about how people related to the Steelers endorsed him and that's why he was rooting for them. It was cool how he seemed like a real person but still actually talked about his plans in Iraq and Afghanistan (getting many troops out within a year) and working on the economic stimulus plan to cut earmarks and find a common ground between Democrats and Republicans so both can agree on the passage of the bill. He was acting like an anthropologist when he had a meeting soley with the Republican representatives to see what they thought about the bill - he isn't trying to change everything under their noses without their consent which in the end will work out much better than if he had. Which is pretty cool. Also he was being honest when he said it would take several months at least to get the economy out of the slump it's in so people can't expect everything to be fixed right away.