2009: Today President Obama announces his first federal judge nominee; a man deemed “well qualified” by the American Bar Association (the ABA) . Historically the ABA has been involved in both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations as they make judicial nominations.    The  Bush administration, however, did not seek out the wisdom of the widely respected ABA when selecting people for the federal bench.  Today President Obama restores the role of the ABA in this proc... Read Full Story

2009: President Obama ended eight years of stem-cell government research restrictions imposed by President Bush.  During the Bush years large numbers of Republicans and Democrats tried to overturn Bush’s stem-cell policies, but were rebuffed by Bush vetoes.   The Boston Globe quotes Douglas Melton of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who says “The dark ages are now over for our lab.”   Obama vowed that research will be done “with the urgency required to make up for lost... Read Full Story

2009: President Obama today vowed that his administration will “base our public policies on the soundest science . . . and that we are open and honest with the American people about the science behind our decisions.”  The Boston Globe quoted Dr. George Q. Daley, a stem cell biologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston as saying:   “To have the president stand up and assert that science should be free of ideology and politics . . . how can you not applaud that?” The... Read Full Story

2009: President Obama asserted today that he will not use signing statements to ignore laws passed by Congress because of policy disagreements.  Obama vowed to restore the decades-old use of signing statements, which is to identify those parts of passed laws that the president believes have constitutional problems.  President Bush had taken signing statements to a new level, issuing more of them than all other presidents combined, angering both Democrats and Republicans.  The nation’s l... Read Full Story

2009: Two members of President Obama’s cabinet toured areas torn-up by Hurricane Katrina and vowed to speed rebuilding efforts, 3 1/2 years after the storm hit.  Republican Governor Bobby Jindal said “We’ve heard some encouraging words today”.   New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin noted the new signs of cooperation from the federal government, saying that in the past, “it was just like, blame the locals; they’re the problem”.  Nagin noted “more of a wil... Read Full Story

2009: President Obama appoints Florida emergency manager Craig Fugate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today.  Fugate, a Republican, has earned praise for his management of Florida’s response to hurricanes since 2001.  Former Florida governor Jeb Bush offered his support, saying “Kudos to President Obama for a great choice”.  The Obama choice is in sharp contrast to Bush’s first choice for FEMA head, Joe Allbaugh, who had no emergency management e... Read Full Story

2009: President Obama, with John McCain at his side, announced an overhaul of the system for awarding contracts to vendors, increasing competition for the work, and limiting the use of no-bid contracts. Halliburton, a company Dick Cheney once lead, greatly benefited from no-bid contracts awarded during the Bush years.   Obama declared that “the days of giving government contractors a blank check are over”. Read Full Story

2009: President Obama reversed Bush policy and restored a requirement that US agencies consult with government experts to determine if a federal agencies plans might harm threatened or endangered species.   Bush thought it just fine that people who had no expertise in the matter make this determination.  Obama’s reversal of Bush’s policy restores a decades-only requirement that experts be consulted. Read Full Story

2009: President Obama makes real his campaign promises to shake up Washington, as revealed in the hard facts of his recently submitted budget.  Obama’s budget reverses Bush era decisions that favored private interests over the public’s  interests.  Explaining his choices, President Obama said today that the insurance companies won’t like having “to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medic... Read Full Story

2009: Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today that the Pentagon will no longer automatically prohibit media coverage of the return to the US of the flag draped caskets of fallen military members.   The Bush administration had favored the media restriction (many believe showing the caskets could weaken public support for Bush’s war).  President Obama ordered Gates, who had also served in the Bush administration, to review the policy; Gates said the review “makes all kinds of... Read Full Story