Obama to Tighten Auto Standards - another reveral of Bush's Policy.

On Monday, President Obama will formally direct federal regulators to move swiftly with applications by California and at least 13 other states in their bid to set automobile emission and fuel efficiency policies.
It will be just another one of the things that Obama will do to implement another sharp reversal of Bush's policies, and at the same time make good on one of his campaign pledges.
The action will force auto makers to produce cars and trucks that get better gas mileage higher then the national standard, and on a faster pace than the rest of the country. Also, there are plans to finalize regulations requiring the auto industry to increase fuel efficiency standards to comply with a 2007 law for whatever reason President Bush decided not to issue. Vehicles with these standards must be retooled and ready for production in 2011.
Other ideas that the federal government agencies must be concerned about would be to find new ways to save energy, and be more environmentally friendly.
It is not known why Bush decided to implement a policy that wouldn't require stricter regulations for California, which happens to be one of his worst decisions he has made since he has taken office. The goal now is to help get the E.P.A. back on track. Because Bush stopped the implementation of the California law in 2007, the earliest time California could benefit from the new order from Obama would be in the year 2011. It means that we will have to wait 2 years longer now. If Bush acted responsibilly, lower emission cars would be in production for this year.

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Obama takes swift action - With a Stroke of a Pen

Talk about swift action and an about face to policies of the Bush era, President Obama has taken bold action to repeal Bush's 'War on terror'. The sign of 'change' and the end of Bush could not be more apparent, as Obama stopped the processes employed by Bush against terrorism suspects.
In an executive action with the stroke of a pen Obama is changing the way Washington works with the world. He declaired that the reach of the American government will not be limitless. No longer can a President declare war like Bush did on Iraq. No longer can a President circumvent long-standing laws of the United States just because he is President.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility will be closed in a year, as detainees there have been held without rights for years. The CIA will no longer be allowed to maintain their own secret overseas prisons. No longer can the CIA setup counter terrorism operations worldwide, as they did in Baram air base in Afghanistan so that detainees could be questioned outside military rules and the protocols of the Geneva Conventions which lay out standards for prisoners taken in war. In a direct attack on the Bush lawyers, every legal order taken by these lawyers has been nullified that were created since Sept. 11, 2001. The actions taken by Obama were swift to insure there will be no more abuses of government power.
One obvious question about one of his first executive orders as President would be as to where does Obama plan to put the detainees from the Cuban prisons? I don't think that any state would want any of these hardened terrorist and criminals in their prisons. It will be interesting to see how this issue unfolds in the upcoming months prior to closing.

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First Full Day in Office for President Obama

The first full day as acting President of the United States, President Obama had a full day of activities.

First, President Obama signed executive orders creating ethics guidelines for the staff members of his administration. "Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency," Obama said.
Second, the President restated his 'oath of office' at the White house, without the Lincoln bible that he used at the inaugural ceremony.
Third, the President issued a pay freeze for his senior staff members.
Forth, the President promised swift action on the economy. The Democrats have already signed the $825 billion economic recovery package, but the Republicans will stall, as they will want major changes to the bill before they agree on the plan.
According to Republicans in a letter to the President, "The challenge as we see it is to create a plan that helps middle-class taxpayers and small businesses without wasting money or exploding our national deficit,"
Apparently one of the other issues includes the idea that the main tax provision of cutting payroll taxes did not help fix the economy in a way that people expect that the plan would. It appears that the plan will have to change substantially before the economic plan would gain any major Republican support. So right out of the gate, the new President is faced with a big challenge. His presidency can be judged by the success or failure of his economic plan. The beginning of his 'first 100 days' have begun and he will be closely scrutinized on his actions and successes, along with his failures to act and failures on policies deemed important to the American people.
Fifth, the new president is drafting an executive order that will call for the closing of Guantanamo Bay detention facility. It is rumored that the facility will be closed within the year.
With his first day in the Oval Office, Obama spent his first 10 minutes there in privacy, and he read the note in a sealed envelope from President bush that was setting on the oval office desk. The note has become a tradition from the outgoing President to the incoming President.
Sixth, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel met with the President 10 minutes later to discuss his daily schedule.
Seventh, "President Obama called Middle East leaders, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak," Gibbs said.
Eighth, the First Lady Michelle Obama met with Barack at 9:10AM prior to departing for the National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral.
Ninth, the Obama's invited people in a formal open house of the White House.
Tenth, Obama and the economic team with Pentagon officials.
Eleventh, Obama met with the Ambassador to Iraq, the commander in Iraq and what is known as the "theater commander" in the region for an update on the situation in Iraq, according to a CNN report. As anticipated from statements made during his campaign, President Obama asked the military leadership. "The meeting was productive and I very much appreciated receiving assessments from these experienced and dedicated individuals. During the discussion, I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq," he said in a statement.

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