Sorry for the double post, I rarely do it, but this is separate from my above comment.
Do I think Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? Probably not. And as some of you claimed, it's less prestigious than it used to be and we won't know who the competition is. But I'm sick of people claiming he has done nothing while in office. So here is a handy list of some of his accomplishments so far in these last 8 months:
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* On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed his first bill into law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which overruled the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and so eased the requirements for filing employment discrimination lawsuits.
* Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured.
* In March 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells.
* On May 26, 2009, Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. Sotomayor was confirmed on August 6, 2009 by a vote of 68-31 becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice.
* On September 30, 2009, the Obama administration announced new regulations on power plants, factories and oil refineries in an attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to curb global warming. According to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, “We are not going to continue with business as usual. We have the tools and the technology to move forward today, and we are using them.”
* In February and March, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in U.S. foreign relations with Russia and Europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration. Obama's granting of his first television interview as President to an Arabic cable network, Al Arabiya, was seen as an attempt to reach out to Arab leaders.
* Helped negotiate hostage releases with Iran and sent Bill Clinton to NK to do the same.
* On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt calling for "a new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States and promoting Middle East peace.
* On September 24, 2009, Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
* On February 27, Obama declared that combat operations would end in Iraq within 18 months. His remarks were made to a group of Marines preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. Obama said, "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."
* Lifting travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban Americans who seek to travel more frequently to the island and send more US currency to their immediate family.
* Engaging world leaders in Europe, Turkey, Latin American and the Caribbean with "strength and humility."
* Diminishing the role of lobbyists in the White House
* Ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay military detention facility and abolishing "enhanced interrogation techniques."
* Restoring the respect of the rest of the world for the United States
* Changed the nature of the foreign policy of the world's only superpower from one of xenophobic belligerence to multilateral negotiation and compromise.
* On September 18, 2009, he scrapped Bush's plan for a European missile defense shield, relieving some of the strain on US/Russian relations.
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Yeah he's done nothing. He's Jimmy Carter... Gimmie a break.
