President Barack Obama's first 100 days

It is now abundantly clear that Sen. Barack Obama will become this nation’s 44th president when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. The only matter we should now become concerned with is what
policies he will advocate during his first 100 days in office. I am willing to bet that the following will be high on his list:

• Begin pulling soldiers and Marines out of Iraq. Some will be relocated to Afghanistan, but the bulk of them will be brought back to the United States over a 16-month period. Our only responsibility to
Iraq will then be to pay billions of dollars in reparations for the devastation we have caused in that country since 2003.

• Close Guantanamo Bay base and its detention facility. This base is part of Cuba, much the same as the Panama Canal is part of Panama. The American presence at Guantanamo Bay was established
in an open-ended treaty in 1903 which stated it could be used for refueling navy ships, but not for any other purpose. Further, the base has no practical military value, since the quarters are inadequate
and there are no worthwhile training areas for the small contingent of Marines located there.

• Re-visit foreign aid for Israel. Since 1949, the United States has provided $84.8 billion in aid to Israel. When interest charges are factored in, this total surges to $134.7 billion. President Obama will not
cut this largesse, but he will cap it. He will then advocate modest funding for humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.

• Submit legislation to the Congress to cancel tax preferences for families earning more than $250,000 annually and to raise the capital-gains tax from 15 percent to 25 percent.

• Disestablish the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Under pressure from religious fundamentalists, Mr. Bush established this office through executive order on Jan. 29, 2001. Its sole
purpose has been to aid religious groups in obtaining government contracts to provide a wide range of social services. Many have criticized the OFBCI as an unconstitutional government support of
religious activities. President Obama will cancel it with a mere stroke of a pen.

• Amend foreign-aid grants. Presently, foreign aid that is provided to needy countries contains a Republican-sponsored provision that the funds cannot be used to promote family planning. President
Obama will remove that restriction.

• Review the policies of the office of U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with a view to decreasing the number of incarcerations while speeding up evaluation of applications for temporary work
permits and citizenship. The number of persons that may be admitted to the United States from other countries varies according to political whims, and President Obama will put an end to that practice.
Persons from other countries who have clean records and who are willing to work hard to benefit both themselves and our society will get favorable consideration from the Obama Administration.

• Cancel all pending judicial nominations and prepare a new slate of appointees. The Bush Administration will push hard during the final months of 2008 to pack the federal courts with as many
conservative judges as possible. But with the help of a Democratic-controlled U. S. Senate, President Obama can block all the pending appointments and nominate judges who are closer to the American
mainstream in philosophy and temperament.

• Finally, I expect that President Obama will clearly delineate the role and limited authority of his vice president.

He will not allow the vice president to inject himself into the chain of command, to order intelligence agencies to carry out missions or to screen staff reports that are being made to the president. The vice
president will serve as the President of the Senate and as an advisor to the President of the United States. That’s it.

Gary Jacobsen lives in Woodbridge. Contact him at gary.jacobsen@live.com.