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April 28, 2009

Obama Tackles Range of Issues in First 100 Days
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=23EC267:A6F02AD83191E1601EA3B916BBC0B7DCD937473925D9872C&
 
Driven by campaign message of 'change,' Mr. Obama reversed a number of
policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, within his first few weeks 
Wednesday April 29 marks U.S. President Barack Obama's 100th day in
office. President Obama In that time, Mr. Obama has tackled a range of
issues - taking steps to reverse the global economic crisis, changing
the U.S. approach to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, modifying
detention and interrogation policies and working to improve U.S
relations with the rest of the world. Driven by a campaign message of
"change," Mr. Obama reversed a number of policies of his predecessor,
George W. Bush, within his first few weeks. In one of his first acts as
president, Mr. Obama pledged to close the controversial U.S. military
prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. For the Iraq war,
President Obama set a deadline of August 2010 for most U.S. troops to
leave the country. He also announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, pledging more U.S. forces to train the Afghan security forces.
Meanwhile, as the housing and credit markets slumped and unemployment
soared, Mr. Obama turned to Congress for billions of dollars to rescue
failing banks. He also pushed through a massive stimulus package,
despite strong Republican opposition to the legislation. On the world
stage, President Obama united with other leaders to come up with ways to
repair and regulate the global financial system. He traveled to Europe,
the Middle East and Latin America, visits also aimed at improving
relations. Mr. Obama reached out to the Muslim world, offered dialogue
with Iran and Cuba, and shook the hand of long-time U.S. critic
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas - moves
that were criticized by many of President Obama's opponents. White House
spokesman Robert Gibbs gives the administration high - but not perfect -
marks in its first 100 days. He said there is always room for
improvement, but that the president is pleased with what has been done
so far. Recent polls suggest most Americans share that view. Two
different surveys by CBS/New York Times and Associated Press-GFK,
suggest Mr. Obama's approval ratin
g is somewhere between 64 and 68 percent - about 10 percentage points
higher than George W. Bush at the same point in his first term. 

Some information for this report was provided by AP.


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