Who was it who said Obama couldn't or wouldn't change anything? Look here

[mabanana]

announces plans to end bans on federal funding for stem cell research and to ban oil drilling in wilderness areas And he's not even president yet!

He is so great. I'm looking forward to seeing his measures for kick-starting the US economy and going green. They will be hand-in-hand by all accounts. Lets just hope he gets it right (so easy to get it wrong) and really does save the world.

yeah. Good on some things, awful on t'others. Oh well.

Awful on none, surely?

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well for me the jury is still out - word has it that he intends to ask Australia to increase its committment to the war in Afghanistan. Not too happy about that sorry.

i think it is interesting times ahead though.

Even I (probably MN's biggest critic of Obama) will put me hands up and say good for Obama on the stem cell research.

However...

I am still no supporter of Obama. He is likely to reduce funding to the troops, which I fear will result in more deaths and injuries to our troops.

He is also likely to pull all his resources for the benefit of the American people at the expense of other people's economies. So, yes, I expect he will askk other countries to step up to the plate and contribute something a bit closer to their fair share.

Oh, and I oppose the opposition to drilling. It just makes us more dependant on oil from politically unstable sources (like but not limited to Iraq).

Will be interesting to see what happens to the US relationships with Iran, Russia, Venezuela.

thinks we in Aus have contributed more than our fair share to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I didn't mean that to be directed specifically at Australia. Obama will be looking to cut costs and one way of doing that is to ask other countries to cover his expenses. Also because he will want to boast about how many American troops he brought home.

Likewise he will be looking to give jobs to Americans and not funnel money into foreign econimies. He is looking to protect the American economy, not the global one.

Anyway, we'll see in the comming months exactly what his plans for change are. Looking to the positive, I can say I am glad he plans to reverse the stem cell research.

Don't we need to see what he actually does before we pass judgement rather than what we hear he will do?

Well, it looks like you save vast amounts of money on the Iraq war just by not contracting services out to Dick Cheney's mates at exorbitant rates. That wouldn't put troops at risk, would it?

And happy about the stem cell stuff, too

you could save, sorry

No you couldn't. I know more about "Dick Cheney's mates" than most. The reson contractors are used is because they are cheaper.

What I am worried about are people who dies because they cut back on the number of bullet proof vest or some other essential protective gear. Wasn't there a British soldier who dies because Tony/Gordon want to save something like a tenner on the vest they didn't issue? Can't remember the details, but this is the sort of thing that concerns me.

Howerv, as Peachy says, time will tell. We haven't really seen anything yet. And, of course, he is not president until the 20th of Jan.

As the US powers the world economy I'm quite happy for him to do whatever it takes to get the US economy out of a recession.

Drilling for oil in Alaska will not solve energy problems - nowhere near. The US will still be dependent on oil from other countries. Obama is committed to green solutions to the energy problem. One of Americas greatest assests is the huge amount of brain power over there. Big spending on green energy R&D will help the US economy enormously plus help save the world from too much warming.

Yes, or at least when the Earth continues to warm we can all stop talking about how man caused it with his excess fossil fuel consumption.

Am in the US right now and the warm fuzzy feeling we all have about Obama exists in spades over here. Apparently he has the highest approval ratings of any newly elected president for the last 50 years. Such good news!

Obama mania will fade. Bush had a really high rating at one point. And look how loved he is now.

Are contractors cheaper even when they billion?

Hmm. Doesn't seem to want to accept a link from Fox News from last year saying contractors have overchared the US government over 10 billion dollars up until 2007. Only slightly less than 1/3 of it was from Halliburton and its subsidiaries.

Athene - are you really a denialist that global warming is caused by the actions of humans?

Cover of The Times today was Obama's plan to quickly close down Guantanamo.

Welcome back to the modern world, Americans. We missed you

I could believe that humans have contributed, but certainly not sole causers. And I think the contribution is relatively small. There are plenty of credible scientists who think the Earth's temperatures are running their natural course. Remember in the 80s when we were all worried how on Earth we would make it through the comming ice age?

I'm not actually saying there is no way man has contributed. But, I am saying more evidence needs to be presented for us to draw this very premature conclusion.

However, I am for alternative fuel sources because 1- assuming they are cleaner I am all for reducing the pollution we breathe and 2- our oil supply is limited so we will of course find ourselves paying a fortune for oil/gas/electricity/plastic when the demand far outweighs the supply.

Athene, I urge you to have a look at this from the Royal Society.

Do you have some reason to believe that they are all wrong?

I didn't say they were all wrong. I said I am not convinced. Not the same thing.

I also said I am for alternative fuel sources (esp. nuclear). So, let go that way and if in ten years the Earth sudddenly freezes up, then hey you'll have my attention. Of course, I'm not actually in favour of the Earth freezing up. I'd sort of like to see a tropicla Britain. Beaches year round... I'm kidding of course... sort of.