Barack Obama Change?? Security, Economy and Technology First Steps

Is Change coming to security, foreign policies, economy and technology???

These are the first steps of Obama's administration on critical fields, whatever or not they would be successful remains to be seen.

Technology:

Barack Obama has named four scientists who will lead his science and technology team, choosing experts in climate change, cancer, and genetic research to chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, this mark a sharp turn around point from Bush policies specially regarding climate change where Bush Administration was notorious for silencing scientist reports and warnings on climate change, Obama on the other hand has picked John Holdren a leading voice on climate change issues, however how would Obama's administration set the pace in the Technology and Environment fields remains to be seen.

Obama presents his technology and science team:

Economy:
Barack Obama has outlined an aggressive economic stimulus plan that could cost $700 billion over the next two years. But the questions rises about the effectively of this plan, or if it would be just another waste of money and a step forward to increase US debt, Obama already said he won’t care much about the deficit, Obama's plan has four components:

1) Create 2.5 Million Jobs, by providing businesses a $3,000 tax credit for each new hire, extend the $250,000 small business capital investment write-offs, provide automakers loans guarantees of $50 billion for fuel efficient cars, eliminate capital gains tax for small business investors and create a $25 billion job program for public works construction.

2) Relief for Families: cut taxes by $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. eliminate taxes for seniors making up to $50,000, tax cuts would be retroactive to 2007, and rebates would be mailed in Q1 2009, extend unemployment insurance and a temporarily suspend taxes on those benefits, allow penalty-free withdrawals of 15% from retirement accounts up to $10,000, suspend rules requiring retirees to begin withdrawing from those accounts six months after they reach the age of 70, tax oil companies to provide funds fo energy rebates of $1,000 per family, and increase aid for home heating cost

3)Help Homeowners: Add a 10% tax credit for mortgage interest to those who don't itemize, enact a 90-day foreclosure moratorium, reform the bankruptcy code to allow families to get out of debt they can't pay, provide $25 billion in additional state aid.

4) Response to Financial Crisis: Continue the actions of the Treasury and Federal Reserve to loosen credit, the Fed should see if it has the authority to guarantee credit for states and cities, extend loans to small businesses through the SBA's Disaster Loan Program and eliminate fees on the SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan guarantee programs.

Obama presents his economic stimulus plan:

Security and Foreign Policies:

Barack Obama named Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state, He told the press, "Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances."

"America cannot solve these crises without the world and the world cannot solve them without America" - Hillary Clinton

Obama kept Robert Gates as secretary of defense. "I will be giving Secretary Gates and our military a new mission as soon as I take office: responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control," Obama said.

Answering questions following the announcements, Obama spoke of the danger of "groupthink" in the White House and said he looks forward to vigorous debate among his advisers. But he added that he will be responsible for setting policy.

Obama presents Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense:

Has Change really come with Barack Obama?

"I am asking you to believe"
Not just in my ability to bring about
real change.... I am asking you to believe in yours.

Barack Obama

Is Barack Obama really Change?, we can take insight from his government plan and campaign promises, for example to get America’s economy back on track, he proposes to create new jobs through a massive stimulus plan that could count up to U$700 billions on 2009 only and easing the burden on hardworking Americans by offering middle-class tax cuts, this bottom up approach is a great difference from other politicians policies that often focus on corporate tax cuts.

On education he plans to take on Bush plan No Child Left Behind that penalizes the schools with low scores on education, and plans to help them by offering incentives to improve their performance while putting a focus on the teachers quality, this is an expansion of the scope of Bush Program who only considered the economical part.

On Security, Obama was one of the few that raised his voice against the war in Iraq, he plans to work with his military commanders to end the war in Iraq as quickly as possible, this was a central promise in his campaign. Obama plans to refocus our resources on al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

On Foreign policy, Barack Obama plans to bet on smart diplomacy to keep the United States safe while improving America’s standing in the world, his own victory alone was celebrated along the world, even in the Muslim world and that says a lot.

In this video, you can see Obama victory speech and grab an idea of the meaning of the Obama's victory, where the first black American and the less likely candidate possible became the president of the United States in one of the most followed elections in history.

Who is Barack Obama?

Obama is the first African American to be elected President of the United States, as a Senator he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for U.S. military personnel returning from combat assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois; And from that moment on, the world was never the same; the choice of the announcement site was symbolic itself, because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858.

Here you can see a complete introductory video about Barack Obama:

Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care. During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations reflecting the strong support from the general public. On June 19, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.