The First Week

President Obama has put me at ease, at least a little bit. In his first few days he has gone through and done enough to show that he intends to not be the total shit bag that our last President was.

Let's start with one of my favorite issues.

Obama lifts ban on abortion funds

President Barack Obama has lifted a US funding ban for groups providing abortion services abroad, reversing a policy of his predecessor, George Bush.

The policy known as the 'global gag rule' had stopped US government money going to groups which perform or provide information about abortion.

Hurray! Dead babies! And not the kind that are left in piles due to illegal wars but the sort who were unplanned for and unwanted from the get-go. Yay!

Moving on, he has taken an important first step in changing the 'War on Terror' by ending the methods of terror used by the Bush junta.

The power of the pen

On Day 2 of his administration, President Obama reverses key Bush "war on terror" policies, signing orders that end torture, close the CIA's black sites and phase out Guantanamo.

Rather than handing out goodies to his close friends, he has frozen White House salaries.

Not Bush's White House anymore

The memo for the salary freeze (which will apply to about 100 White House aides making more than $100,000 a year) said that in "a period of severe economic stress," the move is "a signal of our shared commitment to restoring the country's economic vitality." "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," Obama said at a ceremony where he signed the orders and greeted the staff.

He still has the toughest bit ahead of him. People expect him to 'fix' the economy.

Obama pushes recovery plan, lifts Bush funding ban

U.S. President Barack Obama launched a drive on Friday to get his $825 billion economic recovery plan through Congress, predicting lawmakers would resolve differences before a mid-February deadline.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis that has to be dealt with and dealt with rapidly," Obama told reporters as he met Democratic and Republican congressional leaders at the White House.

There is little a President can do to get an economy back on track unless he wants to resort to a more Socialist agenda. That probably wouldn't go over too well in the good old U.S. of A. Then again, the time might be ripe for people sick of 'free market' shenanigans that left the working taxpayers hit way too hard because of the actions of private business. We'll have to wait and see.

Now, can Obama rise to the challenge of hearing the voices of Americans and do something meaningful for millions who supported him? Can he make one small step towards ending the war on (some) drugs?

5 million strong to petition Obama to legalize weed

That would be a truly bold movement towards real change.