Barack Obama has been President for just over 14 months, and there has been much discontent that he has been unable to resolve all of the many problems in domestic and foreign affairs that this nation faces.
Many Americans seem to think that within little more than a year, why can’t every issue that George W. Bush either created or left unsettled for eight years be solved by the Obama Administration? This is, of course, unreasonable, as no President or administration has had the burdens that Obama has had, other than possibly Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and even they could not resolve the crises they faced within one year and two months!
But, also consider that the long battle over Health Care reform distracted the President from other crucial issues. Now that this has been completed, even with the future court battles and political campaign of 2010 that will be centered around this most controversial issue, Obama can be seen as focusing his attention on many other key issues.
For instance, the Student Loan and Pell Grant issue has now been made a program no longer controlled by the banks to their advantage, with the government taking full responsibility for this in the Health Care legislation, and this can be seen as a good move.
Also, the Obama Administration is now actively pursuing a program to help millions of homeowners in foreclosure by forcing banks and other financial institutions to ease demands on mortgagees by lowering principal payments and creating a moratorium on payments for those who are unemployed. This is essential, as the banks caused much of the problem by giving out mortgages that they often knew could not be repaid.
Additionally, it has just been announced that the Russians and the United States have agreed to major reductions in nuclear weapons, an important arms control victory for those who wish to lessen the danger of nuclear weapons. This agreement replaces one signed under the first Bush Administration in 1991, and is to be applauded!
Also, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is soon to announce real progress in the changing of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward gays in the military, a step long overdue!
Anyone who thinks Barack Obama is “sitting on his hands” is now able to realize that progress is being made, but as has been said before, “Rome was not built in a day”!