What is Obama doing? » website

Hello – and good bye!

Niklas — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:35:24 +0000

Thanks, we had a good time!

First, welcome to What is Obama doing.

This blog has had quite a successful run, but we regret to inform you that due to lack of contributors (and time) it is no longer steadily maintained. We still recommend browsing through the history as there are many interesting posts, some perhaps about things you didn’t know about or forgot.

That said, we might still pick it up in the future. If you are interested in continuing the legacy, just get in touch with us and we’ll talk!

To keep track of Barack in the meantime we recommend:

Day 27: Afghan war troops possibly on the way, new wiki launched

Niklas — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:52:24 +0000

Several sources seem to have sources that claim Obama is about to decide when/how many troops will be added to the war in Afghanistan, something that have been anxiously expected but delayed. Yesterday the White House promised he would make a decision “shortly” – whatever that means in politi-speak.

Story on Google News

In other news about the Obama tubes, a Stimulus Bill Wiki-site has sprung up. It’s supposed to become a wikipedia about what the stimulus bill really means and what’s actually in it. “The Stimulus Wiki was built to dissect and discuss the Stimulus Bill.”

Visit StimulusWiki here.

Day 23: White house comments Gregg

Niklas — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:45:35 +0000

The official white house blog has released a comment about the awkward quitting of yet another cabinet pick.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs released the following statement:

Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.

Link to White House blog post

Day 5: Weekly adress, new expenditure website

Niklas — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:33:12 +0000

Obamas weekly adress (youtube)

Obama To Launch Website For Tracking Tax Expenditures

internationalflights tips news that Barack Obama, in his first weekly address as President, has mentioned plans to set up a website for tracking “how and where we spend taxpayer dollars.” Details about the website, Recovery.gov, are available within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (PDF). The website “shall provide data on relevant economic, financial, grant, and contract information in user-friendly visual presentations to enhance public awareness of the use funds made available in this Act,” and will also “provide a means for the public to give feedback on the performance of contracts awarded for purposes of carrying out this Act.” The site itself currently contains a placeholder until the passage of the Act.
- Story on Slashdot

Obama breaks from Bush, avoids divisivenes.

Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush’s unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands. He focused instead on fixing the economy, repairing a battered world image and cleaning up government.
- Story on MSNBC

Day 1: Off to a running start

Niklas — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:21:30 +0000

Obama starts his first day in office like follows:

Before he even leaves home he halts the military tribunal processes at Guantánamo Bay.
As soon as he gets in he phones several arab leaders, namely the leaders of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak), Israel (Ehud Olmert), Jordan (King Hussein) and the palestinian Fatah party (Mahmoud Abbas).
He immediately froze salaries for senior White House staffers and implemented strict guidelines to prevent lobbyists from gaining influence over and positions within regulatory bodies.
Releases a brand new White House website complete with a blog in order to start making true of his pledge of government openness. Most of the material on the site is also now licensed freely under Creative Commons.
Met with top military advisers to discuss the withdrawal of all american troops from Iraq within 160 days.
Convening with his economy staff to boot up the stimulus package.

This surely is off to a pretty good start!