Have you seen what obama did his first day?

[kornmanz]

This isnt a discussion about obama himself. I dont want this thread turning into a I hate obama/I love obama thread.

I just simply want to inform you of his doings.

Obama's first day: Pay freeze, lobbying rules

WASHINGTON - In his first public acts in office, President Barack Obama on Wednesday placed new limits on lobbyists in his White House and, in a nod to the country's economic turmoil, froze the salaries of senior aides.He also met Wednesday with economic advisers, spoke with Middle East leaders and attended a prayer service. Aides circulated a draft executive order to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year. Announcing the White House moves while attending a ceremony to swear in his senior staff, Obama said the steps "represent a clean break from business as usual." The pay freeze affects the roughly 100 White House employees who make more than $100,000 a year. "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," Obama said.

Obama's new lobbying rules will not only ban aides from trying to influence the administration when they leave his staff. Those already hired will be banned from working on matters they have previously lobbied on, or to approach agencies that they once targeted.The rules also ban lobbyists from giving gifts of any size to any member of his administration. It wasn't immediately clear whether the ban would include the traditional "previous relationships" clause, allowing gifts from friends or associates with which an employee comes in with strong ties.The new rules also require that anyone who leaves his administration is not allowed to try to influence former friends and colleagues for at least two years. Obama is requiring all staff to attend to an ethics briefing like one he said he attended last week.Obama called the rules tighter "than under any other administration in history." They followed pledges during his campaign to be strict about the influence of lobbyist in his White House."The new rules on lobbying alone, no matter how tough, are not enough to fix a broken system in Washington," he said. "That's why I'm also setting rules that govern not just lobbyists but all those who have been selected to serve in my administration."

'Too much secrecy'In an attempt to deliver on pledges of a transparent government, Obama said he would change the way the federal government interprets the Freedom of Information Act. He said he was directing agencies that vet requests for information to err on the side of making information public — not to look for reasons to legally withhold it — an alteration to the traditional standard of evaluation.

Just because a government agency has the legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should, Obama said. Reporters and public-interest groups often make use of the law to explore how and why government decisions were made; they are often stymied as agencies claim legal exemptions to the law. "For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city," Obama said.He said the orders he was issuing Wednesday will not "make government as honest and transparent as it needs to be" nor go as far as he would like."But these historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country," Obama said. "And I will, I hope, do something to make government trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the days and weeks, months and years to come."

Mideast diplomacyEarlier Wednesday, the president called the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan following the Israeli military assault on Gaza."He used this opportunity on his first day in office to communicate his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term, and to express his hope for their continued cooperation and leadership," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement."In the aftermath of the Gaza conflict," Gibbs added, the president "emphasized his determination to work to help consolidate the cease-fire by establishing an effective anti-smuggling regime to prevent Hamas from rearming, and facilitating in partnership with the Palestinian Authority a major reconstruction effort for Palestinians in Gaza."Also Wednesday, Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, attended the prayer service at the National Cathedral. Joining them there were Biden and his wife, Jill. Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State-nominee Hillary Clinton, were also in the front row with the first family.

Pushing his economic planObama began his morning with meetings with his top economic advisers, which meshed with quickened efforts in Congress to add top Cabinet officials to the roster of those confirmed on Tuesday and to advance the economic stimulus measure that is a top priority of his administration.Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner, appearing before the Senate Finance Committee for a confirmation hearing, said enactment of the new president’s economic stimulus was essential. He also said the Senate’s decision last week to permit use of the second $350 installment of a financial industry bailout "will enable us to take the steps necessary to help get credit flowing."He said Obama and he "share your belief that this program needs serious reform."Geithner also apologized for his failure to pay personal taxes earlier in the decade, calling the omission a mistake. The taxes were repaid in stages, some after an IRS audit and the rest after a review of his returns late last year by Obama’s transition team.

Letter from 43 to 44Obama and his wife arrived at the White House around 1 a.m. after attending 10 official inaugural balls. Several hours later he walked into the most famous office in America for the first time as president. Press secretary Gibbs said in a statement that Obama spent 10 minutes alone and read a note left for him by former President George W. Bush that was in an envelope marked “To: .44, From: .43.” A new poll underscored the sense of anticipation that accompanied Obama into office.The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks survey found that by a 3-1 margin, people feel more optimistic about the country's future now that Obama has been inaugurated, including 30 percent of Republicans. The meeting with economic advisers was called at a time when 11 million Americans are out of work and millions more feel the loss of savings and face the prospect of foreclosures on their homes. Last week, Congress cleared the way for use of a second, $350 billion installment of financial-industry bailout money, a pre-inaugural victory for Obama. Democratic leaders hope to have the $825 billion economic stimulus measure to his desk by mid-February. The war in Iraq that he has promised to end featured prominently in Obama's first day as well. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, were among those called in for a meeting later Wednesday as the new president assumed the role of commander in chief.

Hard-earned peace?In his inaugural address on Tuesday, Obama said his goal was to "responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan." The two unfinished wars are twinned for Obama. He has promised to bring U.S. combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months of taking office, as long as doing so wouldn't endanger either the Americans left behind for training and terrorism-fighting nor the security gains in Iraq. And he has said he would use that drawdown to bolster the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, where U.S.-backed fighters are losing ground against a resurgent Taliban.Among the possibilities for the first day was the naming of a Middle East envoy, critical at a time of renewed hostilities between Israelis and the Palestinians; overturning the so-called Mexico City policy that forbids U.S. funding for family planning programs that offer abortion, and lifting President George W. Bush's limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Within hours of Obama' taking the oath of office on Tuesday, Emanuel ordered all federal agencies to put the brakes on any pending regulations that the Bush administration sought to push through in its final days.

[drksolest]

love ya Z... but i'm not gonna read all that shi7 hahahahahaha

[kornmanz]

lol. Yeah I didnt read all of it too. I read what I wanted from it and thats it.

This is copy and pasted from another site I frequent lol. I figured ppl on nico might be interested.

[numbnuts240]

love ya Z... but i'm not gonna read all that shi7 hahahahahaha

except about the loving you part, i already tried that, you turned me down

[AZhitman]

Good info.

Let's hope every day is as productive.

[kornmanz]

except about the loving you part, i already tried that, you turned me down

[OriginalWheelman]

Good info.

Let's hope every day is as productive.

We'll see how the country feels about him when he really starts doing work and the "newly wed" effect wears off.

[notslow]

Obama's 1st day of presidency > 1 year of Bush

[etschell]

id just like to remind you, since 911 (cough pre g w bush usa policy's fault cough) there has not been one terrorlst attack on our soil. and if you think its coincidence, well you are just a tin man.

[frapjap]

Lovin' it!

[aris_unlimited]

I think its great that he is trying to fix the economy. But the main thing about him that still concerns me is all the obvious history he and his staff have with anti-gun laws. So while this is a for him. I am still holding out to see how he does with the peoples right to have/use firearms.

[G_whizz]

We have a Political forum guys.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

It was pretty interesting to see all the news stories being pumped out today...

id just like to remind you, since 911 (cough pre g w bush usa policy's fault cough) there has not been one terrorlst attack on our soil. and if you think its coincidence, well you are just a tin man.

Mathematically, that doesn't mean much. The frequency of terrorlst attacks on our soil is pretty low. (Just playing devil's advocate here)

[S13_love]

(cough pre g w bush usa policy's fault cough)

Oh...I would love for you to explain this, sir.

(keep in mind, im not blaming bush's or anyone's policies at all)

[Jesda]

The whole transition went well. Unlike Clinton and his dipsh*t staff, Bush was graceful, didn't steal furniture, didn't vandalize anything, and offered guidance to his successor.

There was a lot of respect on the part of President Obama and former President Bush. Both of them strike me as being decent men.

We'll see how Obama performs as president.