Obama as President: Iraq Pullout, Nationalized Health Care and Going Green
As a Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) presidency becomes more of a possibility, the reality of his potential presidency becomes an issue for Americans to contemplate.
Although much of the coverage of the presidential election has been focused on the horse race between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), there hasn’t really been much attention given to what would happen with a President Obama.
However, Whoopi Goldberg of “The View” asked Obama what the first three things he would do upon coming into office during his March 28 appearance.
“Sir, every time we get a candidate on, I ask this question, so I’m going to ask it of you,” Goldberg said. “What are the first three things you will do if you are elected president?”
Obama’s priorities included three hot-button topics – the
“The first three things – I’m going to call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the relevant commanders and Secretary of State, the whole national security apparatus – and give them a new mission, which is to responsibly and honorably begin a withdrawal from
Obama’s other two priorities were domestic. He told the audience his administration would push to make sure every American should have health insurance, even if it means taxpayer money.
“Number two, I want to put forward legislation that would give every American health care,” Obama said.
Obama said that since premiums are high, people aren’t going to the doctor and that was costing more in the long-run.
“If you don’t have health care, we’ll set up a plan similar to the one I have as a member of Congress,” Obama said, “You can buy into it, we’ll subsidize it if you can’t afford it and you won’t be excluded for preexisting conditions. The point is everybody should have the kind of health care that over the long-term will save us cost because if you’re getting regular check-ups, you’re staying healthier and we’re reducing obesity and heart disease and those kinds of things, then the bill will be lower over the long-term. So that’s the second thing.”
He didn’t address the estimated cost of such a proposal.
The third item Obama would do is try to tackle the issues of energy and the environment, specifically – global warming.
“[T]he third thing is I really think we have to deal with our energy crisis,” Obama said. “Everybody’s personal crisis is $4 a gallon gas which is maybe coming up this summer.”
Obama criticized the status quo for being too dependent on outside countries for oil. But rather than saying he would push to make more energy sources available (i.e. drilling in ANWR or off-shore near
“So for us to say we’re going to deal with climate change and cap the emission of greenhouse gases and raise fuel efficiency standards and invest in solar and wind and bio-diesel, it’s a three-for,” Obama said. “That’s the only way we can drive gas prices down over the long-term. It’s the only way that we're going to deal with global warming, but it also improving our national security.”
Obama did not detail the costs of his energy platform, either.
Obama’s leads all three presidential contenders in proposed new spending with a whopping by $307.3 billion, according to a new report from the National Taxpayers’ Union Foundation.
