Presidency of Barack Obama
Template:Active editnotice Template:FixBunching
Presidency of Barack Obama | |
---|---|
44th President of the United States | |
Assumed office January 20, 2009 | |
Vice President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | George W. Bush |
Personal details | |
Born | Barack Hussein Obama II[1] August 4, 1961 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[1] |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Michelle Obama (m. 1992) |
Children | Malia Ann (b. 1998) Sasha (b. 2001) |
Residence(s) | Chicago, Illinois (Private) White House, Washington, D.C (Official) |
Alma mater | Occidental College Columbia University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
Profession | Community organizer Attorney Author Professor Politician |
Signature | |
Website | Official White House Website |
This article is part of a series about Barack Obama | |
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at his inauguration on January 20, 2009 as the 44th President of the United States. Obama, formerly a United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.
Transition period
The presidential transition period began following Obama's election to the presidency on November 4, 2008. The Obama-Biden Transition Project was co-chaired by John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. During the transition period, Obama announced his nominations for his Cabinet and administration. Shortly after the election on November 4, Obama chose Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as his Chief of Staff.[2]
Cabinet nominations included former Democratic primary rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton for Secretary of State and Bill Richardson for Secretary of Commerce (although the latter withdrew on 4 January 2009). On December 1, Obama announced that he had asked Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, making Gates the first Defense head to carry over from a president of a different party.[3] Obama will also restore the United States Ambassador to the United Nations to a Cabinet-level position, and nominated former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice for the position.[4] In the midst of a global financial crisis, Obama nominated Timothy F. Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.[5]
On January 21, 2009, Hillary Rodham Clinton was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the position of Secretary of State.
Inauguration
Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. He officially assumed the presidency at exactly noon, EST,[6] and completed the oath of office at 12:05 PM, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. After his speech, he went to the President's Room in the House Wing of the Capitol and signed three documents: a commemorative proclamation, a list of Cabinet appointments, and a list of sub-Cabinet appointments, before attending luncheon with congressional and administration leaders and invited guests.[7]To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of former President Abraham Lincoln, the same Bible that was used for Lincoln's inauguration was used in Obama's inauguration.[8]
In administering the oath, Chief Justice John G. Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" and erroneously replaced the phrase "President of the United States" with "President to the United States" before restating the phrase correctly; since Obama initially repeated the incorrect form, some scholars argued the President should take the oath again[9]. On January 21, Obama retook the oath (Roberts administered again) in a private ceremony in the White House Map Room; White House Counsel Greg Craig said Obama took the oath from Roberts again out of an "abundance of caution."[10]
Expectations for first 100 days
Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term, the opening 100 day period of the presidency has been a benchmark for measuring the intentions and efficiency of an incoming president.[11] The first 100 days of the Presidency of Barack Obama will run from his inauguration on January 20 to April 29. In his first 60 Minutes post-election interview, Obama said that he has been studying Roosevelt's first 100 days.[12] At the same time, he has also cautioned against a too exclusive focus on this limited time frame: "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference."[13] This statement echoed those of other presidents, in downplaying the significance of the first 100 days. John F. Kennedy once said his mission might never be accomplished: "All this will not be finished in the first hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."[14]
Nevertheless, Obama's first 100 days have been highly anticipated ever since he became the presumptive nominee.[15] Several news outlets have even created special portals dedicated to covering the subject.[16] Commentators have weighed in on challenges and priorities within the fields of domestic and foreign policy, on economic issues and on the environment.[17][18][19][20] CNN lists a number of economic issues that "Obama and his team will have to tackle in their first 100 days", foremost among which is passing and implementing a recovery package to deal with the ongoing financial crisis.[19] Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, has expressed hopes that the new president will close Guantanamo Bay detention camp in his first 100 days in office.[18] After aides of the president announced his intention to hold a major foreign policy speech in the capital of an Islamic country, there were speculations in Jakarta that he might return to his former home city within the first 100 days.[21]
Actions and accomplishments
Within minutes after taking the Oath of Office, Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued an order suspending last-minute federal regulations pushed through by outgoing President George Bush, planning to review everything still pending.[22]
In one of his first official acts, President Obama issued a proclamation, declaring January 20, 2009 a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation.[23]
On his first day in office, Obama ordered a 120-day suspension of all trials for alleged terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, so the new administration can "review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically".[24] Additionally, due to the economic crisis, the President enacted a pay freeze for Senior White House Staff making more than $100,000 per year[25], as well as announcing stricter guidelines regarding lobbyists in an effort to raise the ethical standards of the White House.[26]
On January 21, by executive order President Barack Obama revoked Executive Order 13233, which had been initiated by the Bush administration to limit access to the records of former United States Presidents.[27]
On 22 January 2009, President Obama signed an executive order announcing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within the year.[28] During the same executive order signing ceremony, Obama impressed further repudiation of his predecessor's national security policy upon signing into force a prohibition on abusive, coercive, and threatening interrogative techniques, like waterboarding[29] - techniques the Bush Administration and its legal counsel argued for and permitted against Military and other federal agency detainees in the "War on Terror".[30] Torture is formally banned by requiring the Army field manual to be used as guide for terror interrogations. Yet another order, established a task force to lead a review of detention policies, procedures and individual cases.[31]
Obama issued an executive order entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel", governing the limitations on hiring of employees by the executive branch to qualified individuals only, and placing very tight restrictions on lobbying in the White House.[32]
References
- ^ a b "Birth Certificate of Barack Obama". Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com. August 8, 1961. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker (November 6, 2008). "Rahm Emanuel Accepts Post as White House Chief of Staff". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Baker, Peter (November 25, 2008). "Defense Secretary Said to Be Staying On". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Baker, Peter (November 30, 2008). "Obama's Choice for U.N. Is Advocate of Strong Action Against Mass Killings" (Article). U.S. Politics. The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ change.gov (November 24, 2008). "Geithner, Summers among key economic team members announced today" (Press release). Newsroom. Office of the President-elect. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|author=
- ^ United States Constitution. "20th Amendment to the United States Constitution". Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ CNN Political Ticker (January 20, 2009). "Obama Signs First Presidential Proclamation". Retrieved January 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has generic name (help); External link in
(help)|author=
- ^ Obama to be sworn in on 'Lincoln Bible'
- ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/20/obama-roberts-fumble-oath/
- ^ Obama takes presidential oath again after stumble (Yahoo)
- ^ Nowicki, Dan (2009-01-18). "First 100 days will be Obama's best chance to make big changes". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ Chernus, Ira (2008-12-16). "The First Hundred Days or the Last Hundred Days?". The LA Progressive. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Reid, Tim (2008-11-01). "Barack Obama lays plans to deaden expectation after election victory". The Times. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Meacham, Jon (2009-01-18). "How Will He Govern? Watch the First Day". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Dorning, Mike (2008-05-28). "Obama's priorities for first 100 days". The Swamp. Tribune Interactive. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Examples of "100 days"–portals:
- "Obama's First 100 Days". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- "The 1st 100 Days of the Presidency". FOX News. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- "The 44th President 100 Days". CBS News. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ Hall, Ashley (2009-01-21). "Domestic issues to dominate Obama's first 100 days in office". ABC Online, Australia. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ a b Naughton, Philippe (2009-01-21). "Barack Obama calls halt to Guantanamo trials". The Times. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ a b Sahadi, Jeanne (2009-01-20). "First 100 days: Obama's burden". CNN. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ West, Larry (2009-01-20). "Obama's First 100 Days: An Environmental Agenda for Obama's First 100 Days". About.com. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ Murray, Lisa (2009-01-22). "Jakarta schoolchildren cheer for the rise of a former student". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Obama halts all regulations pending review". Associated Press. January 20, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Obama, Barack (January 20, 2009). "A National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation". The White House Blog. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Seeks Halt to Legal Proceedings at Guantanamo". Associated Press. January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama's first day: Pay freeze, lobbying rules". MSNBC. January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Revelry Over, Obama freezing pay of top staff; signs ethics rules". USA Today. January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Executive Order -- Presidential Records". Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ "Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year". USA Today. January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUFB6uV5Vgvm3MNjbvvkUOjqvJqgD95SA2GG1
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html?em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1232643750-mJ4DJ0S5vpFOGfVsbfdxKQ
- ^ "Obama signs executive order to close Guantanamo Bay". CNN. January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel". Retrieved 2009-01-22. On January 22nd, 2009, Barack Obama addressed at the State Department that "the United States will not torture", as well as the official notice that Guantanamo Bay will be closed.