VOICE OF THE PEOPLE | OCT. 16, 2009

President Obama has accomplished a lot

I am trying to imagine Republicans grumbling, “He needs to do something to deserve it,” if one of their own received the Nobel Peace Prize. I am disgusted by the sour grapes attitude of Democrats who ought to be head over heels in glee. And I am, if you remember, the Queen of Peace Rallies in Rock Hill, the one who stood on street corners week after week during the Bush days with just one Democrat and a Green Party member protesting the Iraq war, which has left us all too exhausted to even consider that there might be a threat to humanity in Pakistan, alive and well, who maybe could be targeted from Afghanistan where a certain Osama Bin Laden was in 2001.

I am reminding you of what the president of the United States did in his first 10 days: Barack Obama phoned leaders in the Arab world. He placed limits on lobbyists. He froze the salaries of White House employees making more than $100,000 a year. He signed an executive order stating that the prison at Guantanamo Bay would be closed within the year. He also ordered the closings of secret CIA “ghost prisons” and the cessation of advanced interrogation techniques. He assigned a special envoy to Gaza. The president ended restrictions on federal aid to organizations that provide abortions overseas. He allowed states such as California to decide their own emissions and fuel efficiency standards. He then signed equal-pay legislation that reversed workplace discrimination against women. Ledbetter's Law was the first bill he signed into law. At the 10-day mark, President Obama created a middle-class working families task force to be headed by Vice President Joe Biden. He also signed a series of pro-union executive orders.

His stimulus bill passed through the House without a single Republican vote by the end of the 10 days. That signaled the resistance our president has met ever since against almost every attempt he has made since to improve the environment, the economy, education, foreign relations and the right to life and health for all Americans.

Mary Keenan

Rock Hill