Barack+Obama

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=**Barack Obama**=

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>>> =__What did Obama Accomplish while in Office?__=
 * ** Political affiliation ** - democratic
 * **State** - born in Hawaii, but represented Illinois in the US Senate before becoming President
 * **Age** 50
 * ** Voting Record **
 * To see exactly how Barack Obama voted on legislation passed or denied through congress follow this link ( [] )
 * Obama simply voted ‘present’ (declining on voting yes or no) during his time on the US senate a total of 129 times
 * This is approximately 3% of the total times that he voted during his senate career
 * “Barack Obama has authored or co-sponsored 579 bills in Washington. And as a state senator, he sponsored 820 laws for Illinois.”
 * **Opinion on Gov. Regulation** - Obama generally opposes governmental regulation, as he has created the largest government since Lyndon B. Johnson, and has sent the pendulum swinging back towards big government after the Reagan Revolution.
 * **Economic issues** -Took office in a time of the nation’s worst economic crisis since the depression, pushed through the American Jobs Act and the Stimulus Package, showing his support for government regulation of the economy in order to restore it.
 * Read more about the stimulus package: []
 * Read more about the American Jobs Act: []
 * Economic Stances:
 * Make government fiscally responsible & live within budget. (Oct 2008)
 * When Bush came in, we had a surplus; now we have a deficit. (Oct 2008)
 * Middle class needs a rescue package with tax cuts. (Oct 2008)
 * Bailout will unfreeze credit & allow businesses to function. (Oct 2008)
 * Every citizen should save energy & resources. (Oct 2008)
 * FactCheck: National debt up from $6T to $10T under Bush. (Oct 2008)
 * Bottom-up economics instead of trickle-down economics. (Jul 2008)
 * Focus on economic justice instead of macroeconomic policy. (Jul 2008)
 * We need both bottom-up politics and bottom-up economics. (Jul 2008)
 * A different economic approach vs. McCain’s 4 more years. (May 2008)
 * Can’t do anything at home with $12 billion a month on Iraq. (Feb 2008)
 * Protect consumers with Credit Card Bill of Rights. (Feb 2008)
 * Bush stimulus plan leaves out seniors & unemployed. (Jan 2008)
 * Account for every single dollar for new proposed programs. (Jan 2008)
 * Bankruptcy bill pushed by banks & financial institutions. (Jan 2008)
 * Lack of an energy policy is a financial burden. (Jan 2008)
 * Release people in bankruptcy due to health care problems. (Jan 2008)
 * Bush’s economic policies are not working. (May 2004)
 * Supports federal programs to protect rural economy. (May 2004)
 * ===__ Financial Bailout __===
 * US will emerge from this recession, stronger than before. (Feb 2009)
 * Fundamentals were weak BEFORE crisis; focus on middle class. (Oct 2008)
 * Not enough to help those at the top: it doesn’t trickle down. (Oct 2008)
 * I sought re-regulation; McCain boasts he’s a deregulator. (Oct 2008)
 * We’re in the worst financial crisis since Great Depression. (Sep 2008)
 * The lax regulation that Bush favored got us in this disaster. (Sep 2008)
 * Pay attention to Main Street, not just Wall Street. (Sep 2008)
 * Decide financial rescue plan on future slower tax revenues. (Sep 2008)
 * Spending freeze is like a hatchet where you need a scalpel. (Sep 2008)
 * Free market needs proper government oversight. (Jul 2008)
 * Prosecute mortgager fraud; require full mortgage disclosure. (Jul 2008)
 * Latinos & blacks are hardest hit by housing & gas crises. (Jun 2008)
 * More accountability in subprime mortgages. (Feb 2008)
 * Help the homeowners actually living in their homes. (Jan 2008)
 * Capping credit card interest rates at 30% is not enough. (Jan 2008)
 * Accountability and oversight over the financial markets. (Jan 2008)
 * Modify some of the fraudulent & predatory lending practices. (Jan 2008)
 * Regulate financial instruments to protect home mortgages. (Aug 2007)
 * Government regulation needed for when markets fail. (Aug 2007)
 * ===__ Voting Record __===
 * Voted against limiting credit to 30%, because 30% too high. (Jan 2008)
 * I opposed both the 2001 and 2005 bankruptcy bills. (Jan 2008)
 * Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs' effectiveness. (Mar 2007)
 * Voted NO on $40B in reduced federal overall spending. (Dec 2005)
 * Get minorities into home ownership & global marketplace. (Jan 2001)
 * Require full disclosure about subprime mortgages. (Dec 2007)
 * Reform mortgage rules to prevent foreclosure & bankruptcy. (Feb 2008)
 * ** Social issues **
 * === Stances and Quotes on Social issues ===
 * Admired repeated acts of "self-creation" by Malcolm X. (Aug 2008)
 * Has stood together with Latino leaders for last 20 years. (Jun 2008)
 * Hate crimes related to the immigration issue is unacceptable. (Feb 2008)
 * People want to move beyond our divisions. (Jan 2008)
 * 2004 DNC speech merged “heritage” with “diversity”. (Dec 2007)
 * The politics of fear undermines basic civil liberties. (Oct 2007)
 * 1980s boss predicted Obama would be heir to MLK’s voice. (Aug 2007)
 * Racial equality good for America as a whole. (Jun 2007)
 * Put the Confederate flag in a museum, not the state house. (Apr 2007)
 * Muslim heritage gives Obama unique influence in Muslim world. (Oct 2006)
 * No black or white America--just United States of America. (Oct 2006)
 * Gays should not face discrimination but should not marry. (Oct 2004)F
 * Forthright on racial issues and on his civil rights history. (Jul 2004)F
 * Defend freedom and equality under law. (May 2004)
 * Politicians: don’t use religion to insulate from criticism. (Apr 2004)
 * Miscegenation a felony in 1960 when Obamas practiced it. (Aug 1996)
 * The civil rights movement was a success. (Aug 1996)
 * ===__ Affirmative Action __===
 * Keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work. (Aug 2008)
 * Past discrimination affects future generations. (Jul 2008)
 * Apply affirmative action to poor white college applicants. (Apr 2008)
 * Community organizing continues the civil rights movement. (Apr 2008)
 * Legalized discrimination meant blacks could not amass wealth. (Mar 2008)
 * Fight job discrimination to give women equal footing at jobs. (Feb 2008)
 * Remove discriminatory barriers to the right to vote. (Feb 2008)
 * Benefited from affirmative action but overcame via merit. (Dec 2007)
 * Include class-based affirmative action with race-based. (Oct 2007)
 * Better enforce women’s pay equity via Equal Pay Act. (Aug 2007)
 * Blacks should infiltrate mainstream to affect change. (Aug 2007)
 * Commitment to diversity by CEOs is advisable. (Mar 2007)
 * African-Americans vote Democratic because of issue stances. (Jul 2004)
 * Supports affirmative action in colleges and government. (Jul 1998)
 * ===__ Gay Rights __===
 * Opposes CA Prop. 8, one-man-one-woman marriage. (Jul 2008)
 * Being gay or lesbian is not a choice. (Nov 2007)
 * Decisions about marriage should be left to the states. (Oct 2007)
 * Homosexuality no more immoral than heterosexuality. (Oct 2007)
 * Ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples; they know already. (Sep 2007)
 * Has any marriage broken up because two gays hold hands? (Aug 2007)
 * We need strong civil unions, not just weak civil unions. (Aug 2007)
 * Legal rights for gays are conferred by state, not by church. (Aug 2007)
 * Disentangle gay rights from the word “marriage”. (Aug 2007)
 * Gay marriage is less important that equal gay rights. (Aug 2007)
 * Gay rights movement is somewhat like civil rights movement. (Aug 2007)
 * Let each denominations decide on recognizing gay marriage. (Jul 2007)
 * Pass ENDA and expand hate crime legislation. (Mar 2007)
 * Opposed 1996 Illinois DOMA bill. (Mar 2007)
 * Supports health benefits for gay civil partners. (Oct 2006)
 * Opposes gay marriage; supports civil union & gay equality. (Oct 2006)
 * Marriage not a human right; non-discrimination is. (Oct 2004)
 * Include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws. (Jul 1998)
 * ===__ Voting Record __===
 * Strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Aug 2007)
 * Voted NO on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration. (Jun 2006)
 * Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
 * Ending racial profiling is part of fight for justice. (Jan 2001)
 * Sponsored bill for special-needs evacuation plans. (Sep 2005)
 * Sponsored bill for a Rosa Parks commemorative postage stamp. (Dec 2005)
 * Rated 89% by the [|HRC], indicating a pro-gay-rights stance. (Dec 2006)
 * Rated 100% by the [|NAACP], indicating a pro-affirmative-action stance. (Dec 2006)
 * Recognize Juneteenth as historical end of slavery. (Jun 2008)
 * Provide benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees. (Dec 2007)
 * Re-introduce the Equal Rights Amendment. (Mar 2007)
 * Reinforce anti-discrimination and equal-pay requirements. (Jan 2008)


 * ** Trivia **
 * Barack has been a Member of the United Church of Christ since the 1980s. Obama's father, while born into a Muslim family, had become atheist by the time he met Obama's mother, the non-religious Ann Dunham. Despite much propaganda, Barack Obama, was never a practicing Muslim, and never associated with any extremist groups.
 * ** Significant Quotes **
 * We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it's easy, but when it is hard.
 * BARACK OBAMA, Nobel Lecture, Dec. 10, 2009
 * We can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it. You can question somebody’s views and their judgment without questioning their motives or their patriotism. Throwing around phrases like “socialists” and “Soviet-style takeover” and “fascist” and “right-wing nut” -- that may grab headlines, but it also has the effect of comparing our government, our political opponents, to authoritarian, even murderous regimes. Now, we’ve seen this kind of politics in the past. It’s been practiced by both fringes of the ideological spectrum, by the left and the right, since our nation’s birth. But it’s starting to creep into the center of our discourse. And the problem with it is not the hurt feelings or the bruised egos of the public officials who are criticized. Remember, they signed up for it. Michelle always reminds me of that. The problem is that this kind of vilification and over-the-top rhetoric closes the door to the possibility of compromise. It undermines democratic deliberation. It prevents learning –- since, after all, why should we listen to a “fascist,” or a “socialist,” or a “right-wing nut,” or a left-wing nut”? It makes it nearly impossible for people who have legitimate but bridgeable differences to sit down at the same table and hash things out. It robs us of a rational and serious debate, the one we need to have about the very real and very big challenges facing this nation. It coarsens our culture, and at its worst, it can send signals to the most extreme elements of our society that perhaps violence is a justifiable response.
 * BARACK OBAMA, remarks at University of Michigan, May 1, 2010


 * ** Downfalls **:
 * Obama is criticized by abstaining from voting yes or no on tough issues
 * former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani: "And nearly 130 times, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote 'yes' or 'no.' It was too tough. (Laughter, Applause) He voted — he voted 'present.' (Boos) I didn't know about this vote 'present' when I was mayor of New York City. Sarah Palin didn't have this vote 'present' when she was mayor or governor. You don't get 'present.' It doesn't work in an executive job. For president of the United States, it's not good enough to be present."
 * Obama is criticized for not improving the economic situation while in office

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