Obama wins praise for upending Bush policies
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 26, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama wins praise for overturning unpopular Bush policies in the first week of his presidency. As his presidency signals a new era of governance, Obama carries out a delicate task of avoiding divisive partisan stands.
Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush's unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands. He focused instead on fixing the economy, repairing a battered world image and cleaning up government.
"What an opportunity we have to change this country," the Democrat told his senior staff the day after his inauguration. "The American people are really counting on us now. Let's make sure we take advantage of it."
Great fanfare
In the highly scripted first days of his administration, Obama overturned a slew of Bush policies with great fanfare. He largely avoided cultural issues; the exception was reversing one abortion-related policy, a predictable move done in a very low-profile way.
The flurry of activity was intended to show that Obama was making good on his promise to bring change. Yet domestic and international challenges continue to pile up, and it's doubtful that life will be dramatically different for much of the ailing country anytime soon. Obama's biggest agenda items - stabilizing the economy and ending the Iraq war - are complex tasks with results not expected this week, let alone this month. Even as Obama made broad pronouncements and signed a stream of executive orders overturning Bush policies to usher in a new era of governance, his actions leave unanswered or unresolved questions, including how he will close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for suspected terrorists. In other cases, Obama set out new policy, only to signal it could be applied selectively.
He decreed that interrogators must follow techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual when questioning terrorism suspects, even as he ordered a review that could allow CIA interrogators to use other methods for high-value targets. Also, while a new White House rule limits staffers' previous lobbying activities, exceptions were made for at least two senior administration officials.
"It's always a delicate task to maintain your coalition and try to expand it," said George Edwards, a political science professor at Texas A&M University. "He's making the moves in the right direction to please his supporters on signature issues. At the same time, he has not elicited immediate outrage from Republicans because he's gone out of his way to reach out to them."
Certainly, some Republicans are griping about Obama's economic stimulus plan and closing Guantanamo. But their protests are somewhat muted, perhaps because little of what Obama has done thus far is a surprise. He had prepared the country and Congress for such first steps during the campaign and transition, and has emphasized a pragmatic, bipartisan approach. He also enjoys broad public support.
New direction
Most of what he tackled came in areas where there is support across the political spectrum for a new direction, although the country is evenly divided over shuttering Guantanamo. Obama long has talked of putting solutions over partisanship in a new style of politics, and he doesn't seem eager to take up issues - at least for now - that create great ideological divides. That is a sharp contrast with Bill Clinton, who set the tone for an ideological presidency when he tried to overturn the ban on gays in the military. It pleased liberals, enraged conservatives and angered both the military and Congress, neither of which was consulted. So far, Obama's only real brush with issues that stoke partisan passions came when he revoked a ban on federal funding for international groups that provide or promote abortions. He did that quietly by issuing a memorandum late Friday afternoon. The move was expected; the issue has vacillated between Republican and Democratic presidents.
Obama was sworn in Tuesday with huge support - 68 percent in a Gallup poll released Saturday - and incredible optimism from the public; Bush left Washington with record-low job approval ratings.
"It's as if Superman stepped out of a phone booth and became Clark Kent," said Fred Greenstein, a Princeton University professor emeritus of politics. "He's beginning to put aside the rhetoric in favor of listing the policies and doing the checklist. He's not going out of his way to show a lot of flash. It's much more lets-get-down-to-work."
That said, there's a limit to what he can do right away, Greenstein said, and "the really big things can't be done on Day One, particularly if they are going to be done well."
"What an opportunity we have to change this country," the Democrat told his senior staff the day after his inauguration. "The American people are really counting on us now. Let's make sure we take advantage of it."
Great fanfare
In the highly scripted first days of his administration, Obama overturned a slew of Bush policies with great fanfare. He largely avoided cultural issues; the exception was reversing one abortion-related policy, a predictable move done in a very low-profile way.
The flurry of activity was intended to show that Obama was making good on his promise to bring change. Yet domestic and international challenges continue to pile up, and it's doubtful that life will be dramatically different for much of the ailing country anytime soon. Obama's biggest agenda items - stabilizing the economy and ending the Iraq war - are complex tasks with results not expected this week, let alone this month. Even as Obama made broad pronouncements and signed a stream of executive orders overturning Bush policies to usher in a new era of governance, his actions leave unanswered or unresolved questions, including how he will close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for suspected terrorists. In other cases, Obama set out new policy, only to signal it could be applied selectively.
He decreed that interrogators must follow techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual when questioning terrorism suspects, even as he ordered a review that could allow CIA interrogators to use other methods for high-value targets. Also, while a new White House rule limits staffers' previous lobbying activities, exceptions were made for at least two senior administration officials.
"It's always a delicate task to maintain your coalition and try to expand it," said George Edwards, a political science professor at Texas A&M University. "He's making the moves in the right direction to please his supporters on signature issues. At the same time, he has not elicited immediate outrage from Republicans because he's gone out of his way to reach out to them."
Certainly, some Republicans are griping about Obama's economic stimulus plan and closing Guantanamo. But their protests are somewhat muted, perhaps because little of what Obama has done thus far is a surprise. He had prepared the country and Congress for such first steps during the campaign and transition, and has emphasized a pragmatic, bipartisan approach. He also enjoys broad public support.
New direction
Most of what he tackled came in areas where there is support across the political spectrum for a new direction, although the country is evenly divided over shuttering Guantanamo. Obama long has talked of putting solutions over partisanship in a new style of politics, and he doesn't seem eager to take up issues - at least for now - that create great ideological divides. That is a sharp contrast with Bill Clinton, who set the tone for an ideological presidency when he tried to overturn the ban on gays in the military. It pleased liberals, enraged conservatives and angered both the military and Congress, neither of which was consulted. So far, Obama's only real brush with issues that stoke partisan passions came when he revoked a ban on federal funding for international groups that provide or promote abortions. He did that quietly by issuing a memorandum late Friday afternoon. The move was expected; the issue has vacillated between Republican and Democratic presidents.
Obama was sworn in Tuesday with huge support - 68 percent in a Gallup poll released Saturday - and incredible optimism from the public; Bush left Washington with record-low job approval ratings.
"It's as if Superman stepped out of a phone booth and became Clark Kent," said Fred Greenstein, a Princeton University professor emeritus of politics. "He's beginning to put aside the rhetoric in favor of listing the policies and doing the checklist. He's not going out of his way to show a lot of flash. It's much more lets-get-down-to-work."
That said, there's a limit to what he can do right away, Greenstein said, and "the really big things can't be done on Day One, particularly if they are going to be done well."