Obama Administration

The Obama Administration is the Executive Department portion of the U.S. government under liberal, Democrat President Barack Hussein Obama; it began on January 20, 2009 for a term of four years. President Obama had a bad summer of 2009, as his popularity slumped, his party weakened and opportunities for celebrating achievements happened. Contentious town-hall meetings criticized the injustice of his health care proposals, unemployment grew, the stimulus did not stimulate, Democrats bickered more than usual, grim forecasts of failure came from his generals in Afghanistan, dark suspicions circulated regarding his motives for speaking to schoolchildren; accused of socialism, he was branded in Congress as a liar. He was criticized first for not making his case, and then for overexposure, as he deliberately put into the shadows everyone in his cabinet. Obama’s inexperience in domestic and foreign affairs worsened his troubles. Nothing worked right--he was embarrassed by winning the Nobel Peace Prize before any of his goals had been accomplished.

He had little to show for his work at the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Congress will soon pass a health care reform bill that remains expensive but has been stripped of critical features liberals demanded--there will be no "public option".

Expectations of a Republican revival, a wild pipe-dream in the spring, became more realistic as the party led in the gubernatorial election in Virginia, and the Democrats continued in disarray in New York, Texas and California. Conservatives discovered the secret of organizing mass public rallies, while Obama's famous 2008 grass roots network remains strangely silent. Optimistic conservatives predicted that it will soon be 1994 in America again. Conservatives cheered--but liberals bemoaned--his strong commitment to the Afghanistan War, where he has tripled the American combat forces. They cheered as well his Nobel speech in Oslo, where to the dismay of pacifists he proclaimed a "just war" in Afghanistan, insisted on America's duty to fight it, and explicitly repudiated the nonviolent alternative of Martin Luther King.

Economic Policy
The Obama administration is currently following what fiscal conservatives and libertarians call ruinous fiscal policies and reckless monetary policies. Economists debate in August 2009 whether or not the recession has hit bottom and when the overall economy will start moving up again; the consensus is that unemployment will remain high into 2010.

Historical backdrop
The gravest crisis it faces is the Recession of 2008, with the economy spiraling downward. Moving fast, the House on Jan. 28 passed an economic stimulus package‎ of $819 billion in new spending and tax increases, despite unanimous Republican opposition. A revised bill passed the Senate with three Republican votes. A compromise bill known as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" is now law, providing for $789 billion in tax cuts and new spending. Democrats claim it will prevent 3-4 million jobs from disappearing, but economists are unsure how to measure the impact it will have.

Detroit spread gloom on Feb. 17 as GM starkly warned of impending bankruptcy unless it gets more aid. By August, both Chrysler and GM had entered bankruptcy, and come out again in much smaller size, as they closed a fourth of their dealerships, slashed wage rates, and paid off bondholders with 29 cents on the dollar. Chrysler was given away free to Fiat of Italy, which acquired ownership without investing any money. Meanwhile the parts makers, which employ more workers than the Big Three automakers, verged on disaster and begged for federal billions. The "cash for clunkers" program proved very popular, bringing people back to deserted dealerships at a cost of $3 billion.

2010 Budget
Congress by party line votes in late April passed the budget Obama had proposed in late February. It calls for $3.4 trillion in new spending, not counting the $787 billion in stimulus spending approved in February, nor the trillions in loan guarantees to banks. The new budget allocates $1.2 trillion for defense, and an additional $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nondefense spending will increase by 8% or $40 billion. The budget will allow the Obama health plan--which has not been written--to move through Congress on a fast track without risk of filibuster. The Bush tax cuts are extended, and some new cuts added for lower income Americans. However the federal income tax on individuals over $200,000 will rise from 35% to 39.6%.

The Tax Foundation says that 44% of all tax filers will have no tax liability and most of those will get a check from the government, especially from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and credits for college tuition and child care. The Wall Street Journal noted about Obama's plan that, "Once upon a time we called this 'welfare'".

The Budget assumes a federal deficit of $1.75 trillion for 2009, or 12.3% of GDP--the highest deficit in percentage terms since World War II. By 2013, the hypothetical deficit will drop to $533 billion but then will begin to climb again. The budget includes an additional $250 billion for more rescues of the financial markets by purchasing toxic assets on the banking sector's books.

The budget reorders national priorities to provide national health care, shift the energy economy away from oil and gas, and raise the federal spending on schools.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Obama plans will raise the national debt far more than Obama says. The CBO says the Obama plan will cause total deficits over the next ten years of $9.3 trillion, compared to Obama's estimate of "only" 7 trillion. That is in addition to the current national debt of $11.2 trillion and rising. The annual GDP by contrast is about $15 trillion and falling. Senator Jedd Gregg says that Obama's budget will double the national debt in five years and triple it in ten.

To reverse global warming, Obama has proposed a carbon cap and trade system, which will raise energy prices for families and businesses, with rebates to most families. It will cost an extra $645 billion between 2012 and 2019, which will result in higher prices. Rep. John Boehner said, "Let's just be honest and call it a carbon tax that will increase taxes on all Americans who drive a car, who have a job, who turn on a light switch, pure and simple."

The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is conservative Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota, a deficit hawk who said he is "very uncomfortable with the build-up of debt" and urged Obama to make good on his promise to overhaul federal retirement and health-care programs. Conrad called for "more discipline on the spending side."

Optimism or Pessimism?
The Obama Administration is basing its domestic policies on the assumption of a rapid economic recovery, that will generate the tax revenue needed to fund permanent new spending program in areas such as health care and greening the economy. It assumes that the rich will recover enough of their investments to pay new taxes--right now tax collections are falling sharply as investments turn sour. Administration forecasts are more optimistic than private sector forecasts, which see a 25% chance of a Second Great Depression. Both parties agree that stimulus spending is needed to deal with the recession but Congress is unlikely to approve permanent new spending programs unless the economy improves, since a large number of conservative Democrats have been recently elected who may vote with Republicans to keep down spending and deficits.

Obama's policies problematic, say economists and public
In the view of 51 mostly conservative economists polled by the Wall Street Journal in July 2009, the Obama administration's economic performance is problematic. President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner both got an average grade of 70 out of 100 for their handling of the financial crisis, but those grades varied widely. Former President Bush and ex-Treasury chief Paulson received average grades of 50 and 60, respectively, when economists were asked how they handled the crisis while in office. By contrast, Fed chairman Bernanke scores much better, with an average grade of 85; in addition 93% of respondents said he should be reappointed by Obama when Bernanke's term expires early next year.

The economists are pessimistic about the economy, predicting it will shed another 2.8 million jobs over the next 12 months as the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5% in June 2009, then hit 10,2% in October, as the GDP fell at an alarming -6.4% annual rate in the first quarter of 2009. Economists see a one-in-six chance that the U.S. will fall into a depression, defined as a decline in per-person GDP or consumption by 10% or more. They give equally poor marks to the efforts of other countries to end the recession.

The economists, however, were broadly supportive of the Federal Reserve. Over 85% agreed that its proliferating lending programs are well-designed, well-executed and helping the economy.

In June 2009 public opinion was favorable toward Obama personally, but increasingly dubious about his plans to overhaul health care, rescue the auto industry and close the prison at Guantánamo Bay. But with a positive job approval rating of 63%, Mr. Obama has the backing of Democrats and independents alike, even as Republicans turn negative, with only 23% supporting him. Support for Obama's foreign policies and terrorism policies remains high at 57-59%. Meanwhile the GOP weaknesses were glaring: the June poll found that the Republican Party is viewed favorably by only 28% of Americans, the lowest rating ever in a New York Times/CBS News poll. In contrast, 57% said that they had a favorable view of the Democratic Party. Billionaire Warren Buffett, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, and former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin constituted Obama's transition team of Economic Advisers. Rubin has been sharply criticized for his role in the collapse of Citigroup which has taken $45 billion in federal bailout money. Buffett has since the inauguration been an outspoken critic of the administration's declared objective of not allowing "a crisis to go to waste" and Obama's massive tax increase on the needy and those least able to afford it. 

Bailout Crisis
After spending over a trillion dollars in cash and guarantees (by Bush and Obama combined), the bailout of the financial system by October 2009 seems to have saved the banks but failed thus far to stimulate economic recovery. Obama started to decline in the polls, as independents and Republicans became increasingly critical. A firestorm of outrage swept the nation in March when it was learned that AIG insurance company, now 80% government owned, was paying $165 million in bonuses to the traders that had caused $60 billion in losses. Geithner was appointed to the Treasury largely on the basis of his work at the New York Fed, where his most important action was to design the bailout of AIG. Under Geithner's leadership it received $170 billion from the government. With major banks on the verge of failure, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled yet another massive bailout program in mid-February. Trillions would be spent to move toxic assets out of the banks, but few details were provided. The widespread reaction was very negative, and Geithner lost more of his credibility as a problem solver. Geithner finally came back with a plan on March 23 that will not need additional funding or approval by Congress. The Treasury will use $100 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as well as new capital from private investors, in order to generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy toxic loans and assets. The program could potentially expand to $1 trillion over time. In June many of the major banks started to repay their federal loans, as anxiety eased about their future.



The Federal Reserve in June said conditions remained weak and even deteriorated in many regions of the country, with commercial real estate and labor markets in deep trouble. The Fed is not expecting a significant boost in economic activity in 2009. Despite costly federal efforts to restart credit markets, it remains very difficult for consumers and businesses to obtain loans.

Health Care
Congress is moving quickly to create a government insurance program that would compete with the private sector. Obama will attempt to pay for it with "$634 billion in new taxes on wealthy Americans". He claimed that "The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds", an argument conservatives dispute because people who are very sick lose their jobs and income which in turn causes the bankruptcy. One such health care reform proposal would mandate private citizens to purchase health insurance under the threat of legal sanctions for failure to comply. Critics have dubbed the proposal Gestapo care.

Obama, however, has been unconvincing. Very few Americans see much advantage in his proposals, and everyone sees the high costs. He has partly dodged organized criticism by cutting deals with hospitals and drug companies, but he has not cut the deal with the public. Polls show his support on the health issue has slipped to 49% in mid-July, with 44% opposed. (By contrast, he had 57% approval on health issues in April). Conservative Democrats in Congress--who call themselves "Blue Dog Democrats"---have been reluctant to sign on to any proposal costing a trillion dollars over the next decade. The controversy has lowered Obama's overall approval rating to 59% in July, down six points in one month.

Education
The major education issues have yet to be addressed, but to the angst of liberal supporters, the administration's first proposals for school reform rely heavily on Bush-era ingredients and adds others that make unions gag. The y include standardized testing, school accountability, performance pay, and charter schools -- all of which are integral to the President's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition to spur innovation. Liberals dislike all these new ideas. "It looks like the only strategies they have are charter schools and measurement," protested Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. "That's Bush III."

Guantanamo Bay
On January 22, 2009 Barack Obama ordered the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within the year 2009. However, he has received criticisms for having no plans over where the 248 terrorist suspects would go.

Afghanistan War
The Afghanistan War is the NATO operation in Afghanistan, 2001 to the present, to destroy the Taliban and prevent the formation of a base for Islamic militants to attack American interests. President Obama has declared it to be the central front in the war on terrorism and has ordered a buildup of American troops to fight a stubborn insurgency led by the Taliban. He has doubled American forces and is supported by most Republicans, but is opposed by many liberal Democrats, who fear another quagmire like Vietnam.

Conditions have turned much worse in late summer, as the much heralded national election was marked by widespread fraud and pessimism is spreading. Increasingly the main justification for the war, now 8 years old, is to prop up the shaky regime in neighboring Pakistan. NATO commander Stanley McChrystal has requested 30,000-40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan. Obama, unused to such responsibility, dithered for three months before approving the urgent request. By early 2010 the US will have over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, triple the number when Obama took office. Conservatives have applauded the buildup.

American policy was increasing set by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, originally appointed by President Bush in 2006 and reappointed by  Obama in 2009. Gates fired the commander General David McKiernan in May, 2009, replacing him with McChrystal. Gates insisted on dropping the old strategy of hunting down insurgents and instead adopting a counterinsurgency strategy that focused on protecting local civilians and training Afghan soldiers and police to take over the job. Gates convinced Obama, who ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in Dec. 2009, with a deadline of 18 months, at which time a transition to Afghan responsibility would begin. Liberals thought Obama and Gates were making a big mistake--heading into another quagmire like Vietnam. However liberal Democrats in Congress will not try to block Obama's proposals, at least at this point.

Democrats are split not in two but in three: a small number of hawks who agree with his decision; a large number of doves who oppose it; and a sizable group that is uneasy with the Obama surge but willing to loyally support his decision. Most conservatives, on the other hand, see victory in Afghanistan as a vital national goal and approve the new strategy, while voicing objections to the 18 month deadline. Polls in mid-December show Republicans overwhelmingly supported the war, with 71% saying the country was doing the right thing compared to 21% who said it was not. By contrast, Democrats were evenly split, with 47% supporting the war and 46% opposing it.

Each 1000 American soldiers in Afghanistan cost a billion dollars a year; Speaker Pelosi has indicated that there will be no tax surcharge to pay for the operation.

Iran
During the 2008 campaign Obama promised direct talks Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a staunch enemy of the United States, who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and dismissed the Holocaust as a "myth." President Obama has supported Iran's nuclear program, which some argue is being used to develop weapons-grade material.

In 2009 Ahmadinejad was reelected to a second term after a controversial and disputed election. Charges of alleged voter fraud from the government resulted in massive protests in Iran and around the world. The government responded by violently suppressing the protesters, killing over 250 of them. Conservatives criticized Obama for failing to provide more vocal support for the pro-democracy protesters.

Iraq
On February 27, 2009 President Obama announced a deadline to withdrawal combat troops from Iraq by August 2010. However, 35,000 to 50,000 troops known as a "transitional force" to defend "civilian intersts" will remain. In June 2009, U.S. troops began to pull out of Iraq's major cities. Conservatives are generally pleased that Obama has continued the successful Bush policies.

Gay Rights
Gays have complained that Obama has taken no action thus far. His supporters argue he will act when the time is right. A proclamation signed June 1st states


 * Mentioning his administration’s international efforts to decriminalize homosexuality, the President said he would continue to
 * “support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans” -- enhancing hate crimes laws,
 * supporting civil unions, outlawing :discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing
 * "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gays and lesbians in the armed services.''

“proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration,” -Barack Obama

Senior Staff
Rahm Emanuel, a former Congressman, has the central role of chief of staff; Robert Gibbs is press secretary; Gregory Craig is White House counsel; old Chicago hands Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod are key policy and political advisors. Each is paid an annual $172,000.

Anita Dunn was the White House Communications Office Director until she confronted Fox News and was replaced by Dan Pfeiffer.

Cabinet
Obama proceeded rapidly with cabinet choices. Obama has drawn heavily on Clinton Administration leaders to fill his Cabinet, along with Bush appointees Gates, Jones and Geithner. His national security team (Biden, Clinton, Gates, Jones) all supported the Iraq war, although Obama made opposition to the war central to his campaign. So far no leaders of the left-wing of the Democratic party have been appointed to any major position, which has stunned antiwar and left elements.

A growing failure of leadership emerged in the Treasury department in March, as it proved difficult to assemble a leadership team. Dozens of senior Treasury jobs are empty; apart from the Secretary, the first 3 names were sent to the Senate for confirmation on March 8 and two other top nominees withdrew their names. Secretary Geithner is overwhelmed with multiple major responsibilities without any senior officials in place. He does have about 50 informal aides. The result was poorly thought out proposals that won no support, and lengthy delays in responding to the increasingly serious financial crisis. Analysts debated whether the display of incompetence was due more to Geithner or the White House.

With a worldwide swine flu epidemic threatening, the Administration finally filled the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services on April 28. The flu epidemic petered out but policy initiative has been lagging because of the long delays in filling top posts. The confusion caused by weak leadership was underscored in November when runaway advisory boards recommended cutting back on health programs for women, such as mammograms, at a time conservatives were warning that medical care would be rationed under the proposed plans.

Cabinet Scandals
Scandal has already tainted the cabinet. Bill Richardson was nominated for Secretary of Commerce but had to withdraw when he became a party to a criminal investigation. The nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, was confirmed after a humiliating televised session in which he admitted not paying $34,000 in federal income taxes. Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services because he had avoided $140,000 in federal taxes over a period of years, and paid them only after he had been named to the cabinet.

Scandal also ruined the career of Nancy Killefer, nominated by President Obama to be the federal government's first chief performance officer. She too had evaded paying her taxes.

It was not a scandal but an embarrassment for Obama on Feb. 12, when New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who had agreed to join the cabinet as Secretary of Commerce, dropped out. Gregg cited irreconcilable differences, and observers pointed out that Obama's staff planned to take the 2010 Census out of the Commerce Department's jurisdiction, weakening the secretary and politicizing the census.

In July, Steven Rattner, the czar for the auto industry, was forced to quit when it was discovered he was under investigation for paying million-dollar bribes to get state business in his previous job.

Senate Scandals
Even more damaging to liberal Democrats were scandals involving the Senate seats of Clinton and Obama himself. In New York Gov. David Paterson came to office in 2008 after a sex scandal forced the resignation of his predecessor. Paterson damaged himself and his Democratic party by dangling an appointment to Caroline Kennedy, who was unable to make up her mind. He finally rejected her and turned to the most conservative Democrat in the entire Northeast, Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand. She is a Blue Dog Democrat known for her defense of gun rights and opposition to the Obama stimulus package.

It was much worse in Illinois, after Gov. Rod Blagojevich (a Democrat) sought to sell the Obama seat. Obama refused to bargain, so Blagojevich tried to auction it off, and was caught in FBI wiretaps. He was arrested and will face criminal trial in federal court, and was promptly impeached by the state legislature, with all the conservatives and Republicans there unanimous in calling for his ouster. Before he was forced out, Blagojevich named a light-weight replacement, Roland Burris. Democrats in Washington at first promised they would keep Burris out because of his tainting by the governor's maneuvers; they relented and were forced to seat Burris.

Burris admitted in February that he lied under oath to the Illinois legislature about his contacts with Blagojevich. Calls have been made for a perjury investigation that may lead to Burris's expulsion from the Senate..

Supreme Court


Obama got an early pick for the Supreme Court when liberal Justice David Souter retired. He quickly names Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor in May 2009. She was born to a poor family of migrants from Puerto Rico, and after attending Princeton and Yale Law School made it to the top through very hard work. She is the first American of Puerto Rican descent named to a high office on the mainland and her nomination marked a watershed in the national recognition and acceptance of all Latinos.

Czars
The Obama administrations has more than 30 czars, who will oversee combined budgets totaling more than $1.7 trillion.

Glenn Beck warns Obama's 'shadow government' is growing in size, power. Glenn Beck has a discussion on Obama circumventing constitutional checks and balances. 

Van Jones, a one-time radical organizer, resigned in September 2009 as Green Czar when it was revealed he had endorsed a 9-11 conspiracy theory that claimed, " people within the current (Bush) administration may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war."

Presidential Actions
Presidential Actions (Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda and Proclamations) are listed on the White House website, on the Presidential Actions page.


 * Executive Orders are listed here.
 * Presidential Memoranda are listed here.
 * Proclamations are listed here.