The President sure made some rookie mistakes in his first term which probably cost us the House and continues to dog him as he fights for re-election. Here are hopefully some changes we will see in his 2nd term. Many need action from Congress and Senate and one can only pray tha we will have Pelosi and Reid in the Leadership positions.
1. No more Simpson-Bowles : packed with so-called cost cutting reformers but actually money transfer specialists
2. Prosecuting Wall St. criminals : Not sure if that train has passed but the gifts like Barclays LIBOR manipulation keep on giving.
3. Pro-active action on the Mortgage/ Housing crisis : Aggressive selling on HAMP and other Government programs. Maybe public-private partnerships to rebuild some inner cities devastated by the mess.
4. Closing of Guantanamo : Use the bully pulpit and the anti-terrorist successes of the first term to get the public to accept the closure
5. Defense cuts /sequestration : Bloated defense budget needs to be cut no matter what Panetta keeps fighting for. Tie sequestration effects in Red states around the heads of Repubs.
6. Circuit Court Judges' appointments : Needs to be bold and aggressive in filling up vacancies. Did not call out the delay tactics of Senate Repubs
7. No more Republican / mushy appointees : names like Judd Gregg, Arne Duncan, Robert Gates should never be mentioned in an Obama 2nd term cabinet. Their first loyalty is to the party and then the Government. Maybe not Gates.. Also Geithner and Bernanke gotta go
8. Climate Change action: Some action on moving the argument forward on need for cap-n-trade. If not bring in a disguised form. Americans may be more receptive now more than ever.
9. Gun Control : If total ban and registry are not possible, work with City Mayors and some select Repubs to push through basic measures. Improve access to mental health.
10. Reverse effects of Citizen's United : Bring in meaningful Election financing and voting reforms.
I restricted my choices to 10 but there are several more...Do vote in the poll below...
11:28 AM PT: Have noticed some comments about waiting till the election is over and then discussing these issues. It is during the campaign season that common folk get to discuss and/or exchange ideas with the President and his entourage. The DNC just went through the Election manifesto meetings. Did not see anybody from the progressive blogging committee being called to give their views. The Repubs put their plan to obstruct Obama immediately after the '08 elections. Similarly we should start preparing to take our case on various issues before the new cabinet hiring and the wheeling /dealing starts
11:37 AM PT: Accepted the possibility of CU repeal is slim, hence tweaked the message on mitigating the bad effects of CU.