How about 108 things Whirly:
1. Saved the collapse of the American automotive industry by making GM restructure before bailing them out, and putting incentive money to help the industry
--- Bush's administration laid the plumbing, BO just flushed the shit and it was shit, the companies should have filed bankruptcy.
2. Shifted the focus of the war from Iraq to Afghanistan, and putting the emphasis on reducing terrorism where it should have been all along
--- And then began bombing campaigns in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. Could you just imagine the reaction of the left if Bush had done that?
3. Relaxed Anti-American tensions throughout the world
--- If the people of the world really loved us, i'm curious about all of these travel warnings and advisories AFTER BO took the oval office...
4. Signed order to close the prisoner “torture camp” at Guantanamo Bay
--- LOL!!! it's still open and functioning at peak capacities...
5. Has made the environment a national priority, and a primary source for job creation
--- Yup, for CHINA!
6. Has made education a national priority by putting emphasis and money behind new ideas like charter schools, but speaking directly to school children in telling them they have to do their part.
7. Won the Nobel Peace Prize
--- See response for #2
8. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
--- quote, "Oh yeah, and there’s that $2,250,000,000 slush fund for local friends of Barak"... sigh
9. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
--- So picking somebody's race for a positon is more important than their qualifications? And here I thought you libs were supposed to be race neutral.
10. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
11. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
12. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues.
13. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force… this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
--- And then in #72 you praise him for cuts, which is it?
14. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
15. “Cash for clunkers” program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulates auto sales
16. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
--- Changed it then put it back with Petreus back at the helm...
17. Closed offshore tax safe havens
--- Don't tell TTH that!!!
18. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
19. Ended media “blackout” on war casualties; reporting full information
--- and then blacked out, or toned down the rhetoric of the "civilian casualties" from drone strikes by the primary media outlets
20. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
--- LOL!!!
21. . Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB.
--- You seem to be repeating yourself... see #19
22. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
--- Did he? It appears he gave them MORE power of the pen.
23. Ended previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
24. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
25. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created 2.1 million jobs (as of 12/31/09).
It's not as hard to CREATE a job when there is a higher unemployment rate, but then again, you'll only use the numbers that fit your ideology, huh? Bureau of Labor and Statistics Those numbers might be right, but If I recall correctly most of those jobs were temporary Census worker jobs which are no longer exist.
26. Ended previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
--- CO2 is not a pollutant... It is a part of the planets eco-system.
27. Ended previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
--- Paying no taxes, moving jobs off-shore and more, GE? ... See #5
28. Ended previous policy on torture; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. . Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology.
30. Ended previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s predatory practices
31. Ended previous “stop-loss” policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
32. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
33. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
34. Established a new cyber security office
35. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
36. Expanding vaccination programs
37. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses
38. . Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans.
39. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
40. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
41. Responded with compassion and leadership to the earthquake in Haiti
42. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
43. . Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business. Great for the economy.
44. Improved housing for military personnel
45. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
--- Do what? If that's the case, why is WRMC closing?
46. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan.
--- by inviting Petreus, GWB's commander, back to the front lines...
47. Improving benefits for veterans
48. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) after years of neglect
49. Donated his $1.4 million Nobel Prize to nonprofits.
50. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
51. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market.
--- WOW!!! That's amazing! I just wonder why we are are the lowest level of home ownership since 1965...
52. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
53. Increasing student loans
54. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return “home” to visit loved ones
55. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers.
56. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
57. Limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House
58. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost.
--- Hmmmm, why were the school districts "balking at using their share of the money to hire teachers right away?"
59. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
60. Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured.
61. Lower drug costs for seniors
62. Making more loans available to small businesses
63. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
64. . Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis
65. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
66. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care.
67. New federal funding for science and research labs
68. New funds for school construction
--- open a new school and then what? It won't help if they don't have the funds to operate it after it's built.
69. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
--- Great idea, lets create more bureaucracies to study bureaucracies! How about cutting bureaucracies that are redundant?
70. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
--- Running out of ideas? See the one right above this one...
71. . Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals.
--- It's funny that that program kind of ended. I wonder if people like TTH oops, I mean libs, have a lot of money in those vaults...
72. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren’t even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
--- Yup, lets just stop developing weapons or defensive systems when countries like China are developing directed energy weapons. However, contradictory to #13.
73. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
--- How many times are you going to rehash green in these 108 items?
74. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families.
75. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
76. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
--- isn't this part of #64?
77. . Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. In February 2010, the Dow closed at 10,309.24
78. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
79. Restarted the nuclear non-proliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
80. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles.
81. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
82. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
83. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner.
84. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
85. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
86. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
87. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
88. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
--- Then they saved us from cheerios and walnuts and then they let possibly poisoness food go straight to your table from China...
89. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date.
--- Repeat See #31
90. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
--- See #72
91. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
--- See #51
92. The “secret detention” facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
93. US financial and banking rescue plan
--- Uhmmm TARP was enabled during the Bush Administration...
94. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
95. . Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system.
96. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
97. Improved relations with Iran
--- LOL!!!
98. Improved U.S. policy on climate change
99. Set timetable for exiting Iraq (already started removing troops)
100. Improved relations with Russia
101. Improved relations with the Islamic World
--- LOL!!!
102. Made progress towards greater cooperation on limiting nuclear proliferation
--- Mutually assured destruction comes to mind, but if we don't have any weapons to assure our protection from someone with no qualms about using a weapon, well, i'm sure you might be able to piece that together...
103. Economic stimulus plan has created jobs. (Unemployment rate decreasing)
104. Drastically slowed down the recession
--- and extended it a to an agonizing pace surely to be passed on to our children and grandchildren. how's that hope and change for our future debt holders?
105. Saved Wall Street
106. Passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act (equal work for equal pay)
107. HEALTHCARE REFORM
108. Ordered the military operation that killed Osama Bin Laden
Hey Whirly you want 5 good things Obama has done?- here you go:
