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First day at the office

On his first day as the President of the United States, Barack Obama is already putting his plans and promises into action.

Within a matter of hours of his inauguration, the newly appointed President requested that military trials in the Guantanamo detention camp were put to a halt, which proved effective: one judge has already suspended a case.

He also participated in the national prayer service, a tradition amongst new leaders of America, dating back to George Washington.

He, along with his wife, later opened the doors of the White House to citizens of America as part of his pledge to make the government more accessible to the public.

Mr Obama is also set to discuss an $825bn economic rescue package, which includes 95% of citizens getting $1000 tax cut to encourage families to “spend again.” He also wishes to double US production of alternative energy and improve energy efficiency of over two million homes within this budget.

In addition to this discussion, both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were examined today, as Mr Obama hopes to put a stop to the fighting.

Currently, there are over 140,000 troops stationed In Iraq, and although his predecessor gave a deadline of 2012 for the US troops to leave Iraq, Mr Obama promises to withdraw all soldiers over the next 16 months.

The Iraqi government are happy for the American troops to leave the country early.

The new President has also put a stop to all pending regulations that were seemingly rushed through in the last days of the Bush administration, the White House states, until legal reviews can be made.

Within his inauguration, he put forward the view that job loss, closure of businesses, violence and hatred fuelled by war “are the indicators of crisis”.

However, it seems that the President is taking on the challenge of dealing with these problems with realism. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.”

Mr Obama is promising a new era of leadership and responsibility, and has already begun to demonstrate this within his first 24 hours as the first African- American US President.

Comments

• I like everyone am inspired by President Obama. He has proved that people are more responsive to positivity and hope then fear and cynicism. His start today has been hugely encouraging. I just pray that he is able to deliver what he has promised and that America and the World give him the time he needs to make those changes!

  By Tom Christian on 21.1.2024

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