Current Position:President of the United States; former US Senator, state senator and attorney
Age:50
Background:Born in Hawaii but raised by his mother and grandparents, President Obama has seen a meteoric rise to power from humble beginnings. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He served three terms in the Illinois state senate before becoming a US Senator and, three years later, President of the United States.
Family:Married to Michelle with two daughters, Malia and Sasha
Education:Columbia University, B.A.
Harvard Law School, J.D.
Religion:Christian.
Abortion:Obama is pro-choice and made one of his first executive orders resending Bush’s ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions.
Budget/Spending:Obama advocated for and signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package in 2009 and is now asking for over $450 billion more to jumpstart the economy. The federal budget has ballooned under President Obama.
Economy/Jobs:Obama believes in increased federal spending to prime the pump of the economy. His new jobs plan includes some tax cuts for the middle class and major tax increases for those making $200,000 or more per year.
Energy:Obama believes in green jobs and clean energy initiatives. He placed a moratorium on much energy drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill.
Foreign Policy:Obama wants to remove troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and wind down the wars on both fronts. He has spent much of his tenure attempting to better America’s relationships with the Muslim world, even supporting the Arab Spring.
Guns:Obama endorses a handgun ban in some cities but respects the 2nd Amendment. He believes in banning automatic weapons.
Health Care:Obama is the architect of the Affordable Care Act that totally transforms the entire health care system in America, which is 1/6th of the economy. He wanted a public option but didn’t get it.
Immigration:Obama wants to secure the borders, revamp the legal immigration system and “require responsibility from people who are living in the US illegally.”
Social Security:Obama wants to protect and secure Social Security without privatizing the system. He calls for increasing the revenue brought in by removing caps on contributions, and he sees tax and health care reform as key to fixing Social Security.
Taxes:Obama wants to end tax breaks for oil companies and the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Many of his proposal call for increased taxes for higher income Americans by rolling back Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
