Obama Only Had One Year
1. January 2009, Obama took office.
2. By December 2009, just ll months later, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Healthcare Reform) was written and passed by the Senate. This legislation that supposedly couldn't be done was done expediently. Since that time Republicans/Tea Partiers have given higher priority to repealing or watering down this legislation designed to help people rather than working together to help the economy which would also help people.
3. 2009, The financial crisis was addressed. The previous president (Bush) inherited a (Clinton) surplus and helped turn it into a deficit and profits for the obesely rich.
4. 2009, Obama submitted Sonia Sotomayor, as the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court. This appointment was confirmed.
5. During 2009, Democrats have a majority in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Things got done.
6. January 2010, impatient voters who expected an economic miracle in just 12 months, began to change their minds. These voters elected a Republican to fill the Senate seat of Ted Kennedy. This caused Democrats to lose their filibuster proof majority. This majority meant relatively smooth passage of legislation and appointments. Democratic Senators fell from 60 to 59. One election in Massachusetts, affected everyone nationally. Every elected official, local, country, and state, influences things nationally because it tells national/federal officials about the core, heart and ideological beliefs of their constituencies. It tells US congresspeople what they can and can't get away with based on how people are voting at every level.
7. April 2010, Deepwater Horizon/British Petroleum/Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill which had several effects on the economy.
8. July 2010, Wall Street Reform was passed (Dodd-Frank Bill)
9. September 2010, Small Business Jobs Act signed into law, the most significant piece of small business legislation in over a decade.
10. 2009-2010, two wars are still going on and being dealt with.
11. 2010, last combat troops leave Iraq.
12. 2009-2012, there is still a global financial/economic crisis which has aftershocks on the American economy.
13. 2010, Russia & America sign agreement to reduce nuclear weapons.
14. November 2010 (midterm elections), Voters continued to be impatient plus they listened to Tea Party Republicans which caused the Democrats in the Senate to drop further from 59 to 53. Also, the Democratic majority was lost in House of Representatives, ensuring more difficulty in getting things done.
15. 2011, Civil unrest in Alkebulan (Africa) and southwest Asia plus revolutions and disagreements with countries about their nuclear program causes fear, oil supply disruptions, economic uncertainties and aftershocks. Country after country in Europe experience financial turmoil which affects the United States.
16. March 2011, Japan Earthquake Tsunami
17. August 2011, The Debt Ceiling Debacle. An emboldened Republican/Tea Party infused Congress dickered over passing unemployment extension and payroll tax cuts and extending the debt ceiling which had always been a bi-partisan, routine issue.
18. 2011 Osama Bin Laden assassinated.
19. 2009-2012, Republicans are busy changing voter eligibility laws all over the country -ensuring any signs of a democracy will be stopped.
20. September 2011, President Obama proposed the American Jobs Act which included 447 billion to stimulate the economy. This bill has since been resisted by enough members of Congress to stop it. This is where the jobs are, on the desks of Republican/Tea Party members of Congress.
Many who are dissatisfied with President Barack Obama state they expected more change in 4 years. President Obama and the Democrats accomplished a lot before the hostile Congress members took office after November 2010 and the Senate majority started to erode in January 2010.
President Obama and the Democrats accomplished a lot during unprecedented global economic turmoil and military turmoil.
Within 12 months of taking office, as early as January 2010, President Obama no longer had the support of the American people and then in November 2010, he no longer had the majority support of the people or Congress. President Barack Obama really only had one year to get things done.
Additional Reading: President Barack Obama's Job Evaluation
