Inauguration+of+Barack+Obama

Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American President, took the oath of office on January 20th, 2009 along with the newly appointed Vice President Joe Biden. Obama was inaugurated while America was facing domestic and international troubles. As soon as he took office, he took action and worked his hardest to relieve America from these hardships. "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" (as qtd. in //Obama's Inaugural Speech //).


 * Foreign Issues**

Even before Obama was inaugurated he promised to end the war in Iraq, started by his predecessor George Bush, and put focus on Afghanistan and the Taliban. He is taking troops out of Iraq and sending more troops into Afghanistan. He also is working to fix the Muslim views on America that were thought up due to the War in the Middle East. Other foreign affairs that President Barack Obama deals with are the nuclear weaponry problem in Iran and North Korea and the possibility of Russia placing missiles near Poland to stop the US from creating a defense system in Eastern Europe.


 * Domestic Issues**

Barack has been trying to aid the domestic problems ever since he took the oath. Economically he was successful in saving the economy from a depression and he passed the largest tax cut in history. He was able to keep American run businesses from complete bankruptcy and created an agency to protect consumers. Obama was able to keep his approval ratings high over the first few months which is longer than most presidents. So far Obama has also been able to give health insurance to over four million children and lower drug prices to both hospitals and senior citizens. In March of 2009, President Obama legalized stem-cell research, a process stopped by the Bush Administration in 2001. Obama has been a part of environmental projects including the limiting of global warming pollutions. President Obama has donated money towards modernizing schools and securing the jobs of teachers and is working to get more kids into college by boosting federal grants. Americans hope that President Obama can fix the mistakes made by former administrations and lead the U.S to a better future.