Obama's Administration and the Policies it Has Implemented

Let me preface this by saying that I was never really a supporter of Obama. He was probably near the middle of my list because of all the other well-qualified candidates that ran for the democratic nomination. However, he started to win me over when I heard that he picked up Joe Biden for VP. Since then I have been curious to see what he would do in office. In spite of all the criticism that he is doing nothing in office, Obama has pushed forward with some liberty issues along with attempts to attack the beast that has become of our financial situation.

The article that caught my attention to the administration's recent policies is related the US's policy regarding Cuba. Since Obama has not specifically taken action or stated a policy regarding Cuba, I can only hope that he makes the necessary changes to end the embargo. Originally, policy makers adopted isolationism towards Cuba to foster the end of communist rule with the hope of planting democratic seeds. However, yesterday, February 27, 2009, Obama was advised by a group of diplomats and academic leaders to change the game plan. The recommendations offered by the group start with small initiatives such as approving the sale of communication equipment and easing travel restrictions but the ultimate goal is a total re-establishment of US-Cuban relations. While I want US-Cuban relations restored, I do not agree with the group's plea to Obama to use his executive power to bypass congress so that we can begin rebuilding relations with Cuba. The good news is that he may not have the chance to because the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at easing travel restrictions. (Fletcher)

Another move that the Obama administration has taken that surprised me was the repeal of the 'blanket ban.' Enacted in 1991 by Bush senior, the 'blanket ban' effectively prohibited news coverage and photography of the returning dead from war. While the law may have originally been created to shield the family members of those that died in war, I feel that the 'blanket ban' suppressed free speech and hid Americans from the real cost of war. American's don't feel the need to hide everyday deaths from public domain so it would be disrespectful to hide away our fallen soldiers from the press; the soldiers that paid the ultimate price need to be recognized publicly as heroes of this country. I think that shielding the families only prolongs their pain (Gearan).

Onto the biggest issue that seems to be drawing much criticism to Obama is the budget plan that he has set forth so far. Not only is Obama trying to undo the "inequality trends of the last few decades" but he is also aggressively trying to help college students and the federal govt alike. With obama's new financial policy 3^rd party lenders would be cut out of the student loan process (but not completely) so that the federal government would be directly funding the student loans. Surprisingly this move will save the government an estimated 4 billion dollars annually yet it will also place a greater financial burden with the possibility of defaults. Although it is a huge hit to the private lenders they will still be allowed to competitively bid for servicing the student loans (Lazo and Glod). However, cutting out private lender is not the only provision aimed at college students. Obama's plan would also expand the tax credit for college expenses and "tie increases in pell grants to inflation." Other noteworthy budget provisions include the extension to the research and development tax credit, the proposal to triple the number of graduate student fellowships, and of course the commitment to the environment (Coile).

After reading about all the moves that Obama is making I must say that he is coming out strong. To me he is making all the right moves by stressing education, the environment, and attempting to improve the efficiency of the budget by eradicating unnecessary spending. His commitment to extending citizen liberties leaves me hoping that he can play the US out of the checkmate that we are set up for.

Sources:

Fletcher, Pascal. "Group Urges Obama to Unilaterally Easy Cuba Policy." Reuters UK. 26^th February 2009.

Gearan, Anne. "Gates: Family would have to OK photos of war dead." The Associated Press. 26^th February 2009.

Lazo, Alejandro and Maria Glod. "White House Plan Would End Subsidies to Student Lenders." Washington Post. 27^th February 2009.

Coile, Zachary. "What the budget proposal means for California." SF Gate. 26^th February 2009. San Francisco Chronicle. < http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/26/MN19165PCL.DTL&type=politics>