The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States, as well as the first born in Hawaii.
His policy decisions have addressed a global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, legislation to reform the United States health care industry, foreign policy initiatives and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He attended the G-20 London summit and later visited U.S. troops in Iraq. On the tour of various European countries following the G-20 summit, he announced in Prague that he intended to negotiate substantial reduction in the world’s nuclear arsenals, en route to their eventual extinction. In October 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
He was elected to a second term on November 6, 2012. Having defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney by winning 65.9 million popular votes and 332 electoral votes, he set forth his second term goals in his victory speech. He stressed the need to fight income inequality while also dealing with adaptation to global warming as well as reforming American education to promote technology and innovation, saying, “We believe in a generous America”.
I remember watching the final moments of the election via some streams on the internet. It was great to see that Obama won the elections to become the first African-American US President!
The news was covered extensively here in The Netherlands and I watched most of the inauguration speech via Youtube. The man has a great voice and is a brilliant speaker!
I was home watching on tv
I was right there
I was promoting for his campaign. I started to work in a new place and when I finished my job that day. Next, I headed to the Democrat Party Headquarters in New York to join the party.
I remember where I was when he won the election. Do not remember where I was during the inauguration. My girlfriend, now wife, and I were traveling in Tampa at the time. About 5 days later, on the last day of the trip, I proposed to her.
Gladly, I was back in San Francisco to watch it happen, after unfortunately being in Des Moines on Election Night. Missing the crazy celebrations in the streets of San Francisco, while cycling around Des Moines and finding what seemed like the only sizable celebration happening at the local University, was a sad event.
I (white man) feel guilty about what white people have done to black people. To black people I say, be black and proud. Don’t ever let the white man turn the word ‘black’ into a negative thing. I was happy when Obama became president. He is one of the few american presidents I trust! I hoped that he could improve the situation for blacks and hispanics. Unfortunately that did not happen but it is not his fault. He tries real hard but politics is hard! Go Obama!!!
Politics aside, I remember being impressed by Obama’s oratory skills. I grew up as a great fan of talented public-speaking Presidents. Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and JFK are my favorites… And – to me – Obama was right there in that class. Every time he spoke, he touched people. That was the key to his success on the campaign trail. He had a talent for talking to a massive crowd BUT making each individual in that crowd feel as though he were talking to them alone. That’s the key to all of the great speakers.
His inauguration was no different. The millions of people who were there were treated to yet another great speech from a great orator.
I remember exactly where I was when President Barack Obama became president. A new term had just started at my university, and one of my professors was heavy on homework. Studying to be a journalist, I was into politics and news at the time. I taped the nightly news when I had to work at the newspaper, just because I didn’t want to miss to anything. So that night, I was home in my apartment, at my table with textbooks and papers scattered in front of me. I moved my table in front of the couch so I could be closer to the television, and I couldn’t stop watching it. The more electoral votes he got, the more excited I became. And looking back, I’m not sorry I voted for him. He’s been one of our best presidents.
I was at home glued to the TV. I was SO excited that he was a black man thinking he was going to be like the president on the TV show “24”. I don’t get much into politics, but, from what I hear, it’s just disappointing. He’s certainly not inspired me.
They showed it to us in School, they brought a TV into the classroom.