Facts About Barack Obama

Some of the Best Political Cartoons of Barack Obama

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Is Obama missing a golden opportunity on energy?
President Barack Obaman may be blowing his chance to shift debate from dirty 19th century energy to the clean energy of the 21st

If you can’t explain to the public now that there are hidden costs of our addiction to fossil fuels, that fossil fuels are injurious to our health, the environment and national security, when can you? Heck, even Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic opines:

If the Democrats do not use this disaster to advance the energy bill ASAP, they may miss a critical moment to escape the oil-addiction even George W. Bush acknowledged in his final years.

Read full article: Is Obama missing a golden opportunity on energy?

Some features of the health care overhaul bill President Barack Obama has signed, along with details on a package of changes under consideration by the Senate:

HOW MANY COVERED: 32 million uninsured. Major coverage expansion begins in 2014. When fully phased in, 94 percent of eligible non-elderly Americans will have coverage, compared with 83 percent now.

COST: $938 billion over 10 years for the coverage expansion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. President Barack Obama is flanked by Vice President Joe Biden (L) as he makes a statement about the House of Representatives' final passage of health care legislation, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 21, 2010. Obama on Sunday hailed the House of Representatives vote for his sweeping healthcare plan as a victory for the American people that answered the call of history. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

DEFICIT REDUCTION: CBO says the measure will reduce deficits by $143 billion over a decade.

INSURANCE MANDATE: Almost everyone will be required to be insured or else pay a fine, which takes effect in 2014. There is an exemption for low-income people.

INSURANCE MARKET REFORMS: Starting this year, insurers will be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. Parents will be able to keep children on their coverage up to age 26. A new high-risk pool will offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion goes into high gear. Major consumer safeguards will also take effect in 2014. Insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. Insurers will not be able to charge women more.

Read more at A look at Obama’s health care overhaul law

The proposal will make health care more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system sustainable, stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy:

• It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today.  This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
• It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.
• It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
• It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
• It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years – and about $1 trillion over the second decade – by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

The Administration believes that comprehensive health reform should:

• Reduce long-term growth of health care costs for businesses and government
• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health care costs
• Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
• Invest in prevention and wellness
• Improve patient safety and quality of care
• Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
• Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job
• End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions

Read more at The President’s Proposal for Health Reform

An absent-minded attendee at the Republican National Committee (RNC) confab on February 18 in Boca Grande, Florida, left a 72-page document from its 2010 strategizing session in a hotel room.

The presentation portrays the Obama administration as “The Evil Empire,” including the now-infamous image of President Obama made over in the makeup Heath Ledger used in his performance as the Joker in the 2008 Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears as Cruella De Vil from “101 Dalmatians,” and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the witless cartoon dog Scooby-Doo. The memo candidly confirms that the aim of such caricature is to amp up “fear” among the GOP’s conservative base. The memo also makes fun of major RNC donors, categorizing some as “ego-driven” and easily pacified with “tchochkes” (a Slavic word for toys).

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By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com Guide

By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com Guide

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WASHINGTON (AP) — After his meeting with President Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama is chiding China for its “childish” and “limited” approach to Tibetan efforts for greater rights within China.

The Dalai Lama told reporters Thursday that he expected a negative, scolding Chinese reaction to his meeting with Obama. China considers the exiled monk a separatist.

But he says he is not frustrated that there has been so little progress on Tibetans’ demands for greater autonomy.

full article

President Barack Obama plans to host the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, in light of heavy criticism from China’s leaders, who are increasingly at odds with Washington over trade, currencies, and censorship. “Chinese officials have known about this and their reaction is their reaction,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in regards to the Dalai Lama’s visit.

Although admired by millions as a man of peace, the Dalai Lama is accused by Beijing of being a dangerous separatist who encourages unrest in Tibet.

And despite the White House’s cavalier attitude, the meeting could complicate Obama’s efforts to secure China’s help on key issues such as sanctions on Iran, the North Korean nuclear standoff, and climate change.

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Having to go to print early can have it’s downsides….