Barack Obama - a Political Portrait

There is no one in the United States that can reject the idea that Barack Obama is a new gust of wind blowing through the political scene. He is a mixed-race nominee in a nation where every President has been a Caucasian European. While most past Presidents have had a tendency to be on the mature side, he is youthful. He has the benefit of familiarity in foreign countries, a collage of societies and places in his personal history. He has the capability of fitting in everywhere, relate with anyone, and associate with both sides across nearly any abyss. Therefore, what sort of President is Barack Obama going to turn out to be?

After being sworn into office as Illinois Senator in 2005, Obama's first effort was to enlist Pete Rouse as his chief of staff. This was acknowledged as an intelligent action since Rouse was the previous chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. Barack Obama has, to date, sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, in addition to being an affiliate of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Obama has been a real go-getter in his position, having sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before Congress, and cosponsored another 427. He has been at the forefront of matters concerning border security and immigration reform. He has sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act", which was initiated by Senator John McCain, signifying that he can operate across party lines. He as well united with two Republican Senators, Richard Lugar and Tom Coburn, on two bills which carry his name today.

Obama has made official trips to Africa, Russia, Azerbaijan, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Ukraine as an associate of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is tremendously good at diplomacy. He additionally paid a visit to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan following a visit with U.S. military members in Iraq and Kuwait in January 2006. He has labored to promote peace in the Middle East. He furthermore made a unique tour of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Djibouti and Chad making speeches denouncing corruption and ethnic rivalries in Kenya.

Obama has also made some daring steps for campaign finance reform, particularly denouncing circumstances in which an official would feel obliged to a lobbyist. Voters react well to this idea in these times of grave distress over the rising power that large corporations and monopolies have over our government. He worked with other Democratic Senators following this to tighten directives on what public officials can do with the taxpayer's dollar, and passed a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections.

Obama has as well supported several environment and energy causes, passing a climate change bill to decrease greenhouse gasses, once more with Senator John McCain, and endorsed a bill for liquefied coal production. He as well has presented a bill, the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," which intends to restrict troop levels in Iraq, start phased redeployment, and eliminate all combat brigades from Iraq prior to April 2008. This is something he can point out, to state, "Look, all the candidates promise an end to the Iraq War, I actually did something about it." He has in addition initiated legislation to avert nuclear terrorism, proving that he is still keeping national security in mind.

Obama has possibly excelled best in being increasingly pro-Internet. At present, when it comes to technology, the United States has moved onward while its government appears to be trapped in the Stone Age. It is no overstatement to say that trying to get some government officials to comprehend computing is like trying to clarify rocket science to a cave man.

Mr. Obama steps in! He visited with the executives at Google and has promised to assign a Chief Technology Officer to supervise the U.S. government's administration of IT resources. He has a promise to net neutrality legislation and has said "once providers start to privilege some applications or web sites over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out, and we all lose." He has pledged to deal with the serious state of science education in America and has put forward a proposal for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and extended summer learning opportunities.

There is little uncertainty that Obama has the technology vote secure. Any contender who can truly say the words "open document format" will make IT professionals all over smitten. Similarly, he has attained notice of the young voters like no other and has some support from the non-white voters as well. He is a bright intellectual for a new generation of voters. Barack Obama is definitely in touch with today's issues and whether that is sufficient to get elected continues to be seen.