Which Promises Will Obama Attempt First?

CBS Evening News: After Confronting The Economy, What's Next On The Priority List?

(CBS)  We know what the president-elect plans to do first thing this January: "confront this economic crisis head-on."

What we don't know is what he plans to do next. Mr. Obama has promised no fewer than four, top-to-bottom, very expensive, reforms: renewable energy, health care, education and middle-class tax cuts.

But the first reality he faces is economic - a collapsing federal budget, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports.

"He's simply not going to have the money in the budget to do it without running up massive trade deficits which will require massive foreign borrowing," said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.

So which of the major promises will Mr. Obama attempt first?

Before the election he told "Time" magazine, renewable energy would be No. 1.

Now, however, his new chief of staff won't say what comes first, implying the new administration plans to do it all.

"We must deal with our educational reforms, our energy reform, deal with health care reform, so we can both contain costs and expand coverage," Mr. Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said on "Face The Nation."

But if that's an all in, all at once strategy, some experts are advising Mr. Obama to face a political reality. Leon Panetta, chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, says any new President needs to pick one battle - and win.

"You want to make sure that whatever issue that you go after up front you win on. Because if you don't people are not going to believe that you can get the job done," Panetta said.

The other reality for Mr. Obama is that all of his loyalists on Capitol Hill believe their issues should come first. When he decides his priorities, one his greatest challenges won't be managing Republicans; it'll be fending off demands from Democrats.

[awjf1931]

The bailout money should be considered to use to help the home owners that are in default. This is the way it should be done to stimulate the economy.
Chec the home owners that have quite a sum built up in equity, pay the loan/banks that are holding these mortages, than renew the mortages at a low rate of interest. Excepting the owners that have bought out of porportion to their ability to maintain the enormous payments/variable interest,
This would save an enormous amount of homes from forclosure and stimulate the economy.

[msimamaji]

The truth is that all of these problems are really inter-related. We need to save the middle class. Our infrastructure is falling apart. Global warming is continuing at an alarming rate and the polar ice cap may completely disappear in 4 years.
We need re-tool (NOT bail out) the auto industry. We need to launch project Apollo NOW. We need to repair our infrastructure. We need to fix up our broken medical system. Many of these require money. That''s a good reason to back Obama''s tax proposals. HOWEVER, project Apollo and repairing our infrastructure create new jobs. Green technology is a multi-trillion dollar industry with millions of new high quality jobs. We actually SAVE money with Obama''s health care proposals because they focus on preventative medicine. We could save Medicare by allowing everyone to enroll in it and by letting Medicare bid for pharmaceuticals.
I just read a report that stated that Iran''s economy is collapsing because of the collapsing price of oil. If we can cut our use of oil,rather than drill,drill,drill, we can deliver a lethal blow to Iran''s mullah regime.
We need to multi-task. We need to do all of these at the same time. We also need to abolish the fillibuster rule - an anti-democratic anachronism.

[easeup-2009]

Did anyone write down all those promises?

There were a lot.

[joe-truth]

Consider the political reality that Obama won the Democratic nomination on a far left platform against the more moderate Clinton. Then Obama ran for president as a moderate. Obama owes a large political debt to the far left such as MoveOn.org who are already running ads reminding Obama of his liberal promises and debt to them for all the funding and support. Expect a dismantling of President Bush''s security against terrorists and social re-engineering policies to start paying off the large political debt of his campaign to the far left. Here''s an example of one of his Hitler-esq policy promises ignored by the mainstream press from as recent as July:
"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we''ve set," Obama said in July. "We''ve got to have a civilian national security force that''s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."---Barack Obama

[drinuk]

During the run up, He, McCain and Clinton promised to investigate the massive rise in cases of Autism in our children. Obama stated that urgent research should be augmented by indendent people not involved with the Pharmaceutical companies. Well Mr Obama, there is a doctor in Texas working on it now, his name is Andrew Wakefield. Please give him your support NOW ! lets get this sorted.

[smurfcrusher]

I will help him.

[mcapek]

We want REAL and TANGIBLE RESULTS, FIXING the economy now! No excuses, no promises of "change", no cop outs about having been dealt a difficult hand, no handouts to incompetent US car makers or any other losers, just FIX the economy and do it NOW, or we will get EXTREMELY ANGRY and IMPATIENT with you Mr. Obama. You are not in the saddle yet, so you have a few weeks to work on it, then we do not want to hear any BS!
Same goes for your Democrat colleagues in Congress.

[hwy1702]

Deficient should be deficit. Sorry.

[hwy1702]

If I were Pres this is what I would do. All households, rich or poor, with children or not, would receive a $20,000 treasury check to spend, save, whatever. In 7 years the U.S. deficient would be 10 to 20 percent of what it is today. How? The spending and investing from households would generate enough tax revenue (nation wide) to pay down the deficient. The tax revenue would be called a National Sales Tax (NAS). The 2.5% NAS would be on every sale in the entire nation. Nothing would be exempt.

[erich_1-2009]

That is one great thing that did come out of this election, the ****''''s got put in their place

Better watch it bud or the occupants of 5670 Wilshire Blvd. Miracle Mile of Los Angeles will put you in your place!

[alancontact]

"OKAY YOU "OBAMA INTELLECTUALS" YOU CAN START THE JUVENILE NAME-CALLING AND PUT DOWNS NOW."

Nah... I''m having too much fun watching you vomit all over your shoes. But I will give you this one little tidbit of info. There is a key on your keyboard called the caps lock. It''s just to the left of the "A" key. Reach your little pinky over just to the left and push on it. That should turn off the typing in all caps. Of course, you''re probably too dumb to realize that typing in all caps is equivalent to SHOUTING on the internet. Plus it''s hard to read! Not that anyone would want to read what you wrote because you''re so full of yourself. And by the way... Texas? Worst state in the union when it comes to civil liberties. Probably because of the amount of rednecks per capita. I know, I used to live there and couldn''t wait to get out. Yee-haw pardner!

[edward1975-2009]

ToldYouSo74: Not sure where you got your numbers, but your way off. Black voters were voting anywhere from 80-96% for Obama. Though Obama did garner white voters, they fell into the 18-25 range for the most part. So as you can see, blacks did vote along racial lines, but what I find even more curious is the fact that Obama isn''t black, which shows how much people really knew about the man, they couldn''t even get his race right.

[kevnkar]

they would prove to the world that the US is full of sheeple.


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Posted by PCreversed

Apparently there are increasing numbers of sheeple. They were all taken in by the dynamic orator. Stal1n and Hitl3r were much the same.

[kevnkar]

THE DEMOCRATS CREATED THE SUB-PRIME MORTGAGES AND PUMPED UP "FANNIE MAE" AND FREDDIE MAC" UNDER FULL DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP AND PROTECTIONS
Posted by ROYSTOLL2

Rahm Emanuel was appointed to the board of Freddie Mac by Clinton in 2000. He was there when it was revealed that they were lying about the money they had. Now he is chief of staff. Follow the money and figure out who benefits from this sham perpetrated by the dems to get their man in office.

[kevnkar]

am not too concerned about the tax breaks, I am more concerned about him getting americans back to work before we fall into a depression. If we go into depression, it will make the last one look like a joke.


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Posted by PCreversed

I''m not too concerned about tax breaks either but I am concerned about this.

RALEIGH b%u20AC%u201D Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workersb personal retirement accounts including 401(k)s and IRAs and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration
The majority of witness testimony during recent hearings before the House Committee on Education and Labor showed that congressional Democrats intend to address income and wealth inequality through redistribution.

[edward1975-2009]

He will accomplish none of what he promised, just as every President before him has done. So for all you waiting for that spreading the wealth pie in the sky dream, keep waiting, your check is in the mail. All you have done was vote Americas first Socialist president into office and given him an even bigger group of spineless idiots for a Congress that already had no spine. You should have known Obama was lying, all you had to do was watch for his lips to move, it doesn''t get any easier than that.

[kevnkar]

Yeah, having a white presiden never did anythng for me, I don''''t see why the blacks think having a black one is going to do something for them. the color of the man means nothing. if it did i would be extremely wealthy with all the white ones we have had, and I am not rich


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Posted by PCreversed

Right? Never did anything for me either and neither will Obama. It''s hard to believe that I make3 3 time3s as much as I did 15 years ago and I''m not really much better off.

[kevnkar]

1st off, the number is 250,000 and I don''''t know where you live that 40k is middle class, where I live 40k for the household is poverty


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Posted by PCreversed

The first part of this was not my post. Yes $40k is near povdrty in this day of super high prices for everything. erich-1 is the one that said Obama would give tax breaks to anyone making less than that.

[kevnkar]

One thing I do know! With President Obama in the White House I won''''t have to worry about my mortgage or filling up my tank with gas. With a man like that in charge I know he will take care of me.


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Posted by erich_1

That''s the problem. Everyone expects the govmnt to take care of them. Their job is to provide security. If you are able bodied you need to take care of yourself.

[kevnkar]

You Republican pigs are wrong!
President Elect Obama will lower the taxes of every middle income family that is making under $40K per year. If you are a family making over $40K per year you need to be Patriotic, step up to the plate, and pay your fair share!

I have been paying mine for 30 years. How is it that you intend to step up? Step up to the window with your hand out for my share?