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Question of the Week

First Things First. What Should Be Obama’s No. 1 Priority?

Posted Nov 5, 2008 9:44 AM CST
By Molly McDonough

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After a divisive election with an historic result, most folks woke up Wednesday morning and headed in to work, business as usual. But president-elect Barack Obama has made clear that there is change ahead when he becomes the nation's 44th president.

This made us wonder...

If you could advise Obama in his first days in office, what would you suggest he do first?

Answer in the comments below.

If you're an ABA member, you can expand your answer for a chance to win $5,000 in the ABA Journal's Ross Essay Contest. This year's essay topic is as follows: Write an open letter to the new president and Congress describing the most important priority for improving the U.S. justice system. Click here for rules and entry procedures.

Read last week's question and answers about talking politics at the office.

Our favorite answer from last week:

Posted by "MH": "Honestly, the discussion of politics in my office has become so oppressive lately that I am anxiously awaiting the passage of election day in the hopes that it will die down. I am the only liberal in an office full of conservatives. Initially, I enjoyed the political discourse and even some light-hearted ribbing back and forth with some others in the office. Unfortunately, however, I made the mistake of disagreeing with my boss a month or two ago. Ever since, he directs all discussion at me, often implying that I am stupid or irresponsible because of my political views. If anyone else was that disrespectful, I would feel the need to set the record straight, but I don’t feel able to do that based on my work situation."

Comments

1.

Raleigh
Nov 5, 2008 11:39 AM CST

Buy Michelle a new dress; that leftover Halloween costume she was wearing in Chicago last night is not giving me any hope; too bad Blackwell died before the Inaugural Ball.

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2.

J.D.
Nov 5, 2008 11:51 AM CST

He should do what Bush should have done his first week: streamline the voting process.

There must be NO feeling that votes were illegally cast, under-counted, or mixed up. There should be no reason for courts to get involved.

This means:

1. No touch-screen, electronic voting.

2. No chad-based voting system.

3. No “connect the arrows” system.

4. Require proof of citizenship for voting at all stations.

5. End federal funding for ACORN, and jail all those responsible for falsifying registrations.

6. Limit early voting to one week in advance of election.

7. End “same-day registration” voting.

Make everything scantron “fill in the bubble” based. It shouldn’t be that hard.

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3.

J.D.
Nov 5, 2008 12:26 PM CST

Here’ an example of what needs to be investigated (video below):

CNN Reporter: “And you came out, and saw the long lines, and decided to come back…?”

Obama Voter: “Decided to come back and vote couple times.”

CNN Reporter: “I think that’s against the law, but that’s okay, ha, ha.”

Video: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YWRiMWE5N2Q4NmI3ZmE5Y2Y3ZDQ4NzNmNWNkNTQwZmI

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4.

First Priority
Nov 5, 2008 3:00 PM CST

Either getting Scalia and Thomas to resign or using the Democratic majority to pack the Court.

Out Neocon filth, out.

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5.

JBo
Nov 6, 2008 1:53 PM CST

The Number One priority of the administration should be repeal of the Patriot Act and the restoration of Constitutional civil rights.  Americans need to be free to voice their disagreements with their government without fear of reprisal.  A free people can then turn its attention to mending the economy and providing employment and healthcare for everyone, and to ending the two disastrous Bush wars and changing our foreign policy.  I know that’s really three top priorities, but this is a law blog.  Sue me!

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6.

Jbo
Nov 6, 2008 1:59 PM CST

Oh, I forgot….one more.  Really catch and try bin Laden, instead of pretending to look for him in oirder to keep up the fear factor that enabled Bush to become a petty despot.

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7.

Michael
Nov 6, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Just roll back all laws and regulations to where they were on Jan 20, 2000; one big rulemaking change and one short law.  We can move forward from there.

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8.

Raleigh
Nov 6, 2008 8:45 PM CST

JBo, Bin Laden is likely long dead; even the federal Government couldn’t be this inept not to have found him by now; however, not declaring him dead provides us with a focal point (like the failed weapons of mass destruction) for continued military presence in Afghanistan without losing press/popular support; seems like everyone thinks we should leave Iraq, but few say we should get out of Afghanistan, so the legend serves a great political purpose

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9.

fed up with voting paranoia
Nov 7, 2008 7:03 AM CST

JD:  Maybe it would help you to have more information about the process.

1-3:  People have a lot harder time with scantron “fill in the bubble” than with touchscreens.  Saw it firsthand.  They “overvote” all the time—meaning they pick more than they are allowed, like voting for 2 people for President.  These ballots get spit back to them from the machine, but they often don’t understand and get frustrated.  The touchscreens make you change your one pick instead of just filling in more bubbles.  The touchscreens (in my county anyway) also display a final summary screen for you to check over exactly who you voted for.  Just because touchscreens bother your Luddite sensibilities doesn’t mean they are not the best system.
4: The office of the registrar for each state ALREADY requires proof of citizenship to get you registered. There’s no need to show it again at the polls, since you can’t get on the poll book without proving your citizenship.
5:  Voter fraud is a crime.  Anyone who does it should be punished.  BUT, people are way too worried about the “fake voters ” ACORN is said to have registered.  Someone who doesn’t exist isn’t exactly going to show up and vote.
6:  You want people to wait longer to vote?  Who does it hurt to have more time for early voting?
7: This is probably the only one where I agree with you.

And did you ever think that that Obama voter left the line, and then decided to come back a couple times, BEFORE he or she voted?  Once you vote, you’re ticked off on the poll book and if you come back, the poll worker knows.  Settle down already.

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10.

1st thing
Nov 7, 2008 8:06 AM CST

hurry up and give me some free money…I’m tired of practicing law but I would like to lay up on my couch and watch Judge Judy all day…that would be cool.

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11.

No More Charity
Nov 7, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Resign

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12.

Booker T Washington's II
Nov 7, 2008 8:34 AM CST

BHO’s first priorities should be:

1.  Make Washington D.C. a state; and
2.  Restart the reparations movement.

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13.

Shannon
Nov 7, 2008 8:57 AM CST

Well said posts 10 and 11.

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14.

Jonny B
Nov 7, 2008 8:59 AM CST

This jobs report that comes out this week is going to be brutal. If Obama wants to fix the economy, he will have to start by creating an economic environment where jobs will be created. He should start by spending lots of government money to employ citizens to improve our infrastructure (instead of spending it on Iraq’s). How many 15 minute commutes take over an hour because of the nations clogged arteries? And imagine the unnecessary greenhouse gasses created during those times. Let’s EMPLOY people to build trains, monorails, tunnels, and bridges - infrastructure for the 21st century that will help support a 21st century economy.

Additionally, he needs to seek the prosecution of the Wall Street thugs who got us into this mess. We prosecute poor people for acts like stealing small value items and possessing narcotics. Although illegal, these actions have little if any substantive impact on society. It may be argued that property crime creates cost increases in insurance; however, compare the cost to society derived from the actions of the poor to those of Wall Street. The conclusion must be that the cost to society caused by Wall Street’s malfeasance is much greater. These thugs need to be investigated and prosecuted so that our economy can prosper with the confidence it once had.

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15.

Barry V. Frederick
Nov 7, 2008 9:05 AM CST

First, ignore the posted comments from the stand-up wannabees.  Second, he should realize how governing differs from campaigning and how being the chief executive officer in government differs from being a rookie junior Senator and how running the country differs friom being a community organizer in the south-side of Chicago.  Let’s hope he can do the former better than he did the latter;  If you have been deep into Chicago’s south side lately you know what I mean. If you want to see it take the advice of those who live elsewhere in Chicago—take a cab, if you have a nice car do not drive it there..Not criticizing the whole city, of which I am a big fan, just reporting.

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16.

Dr. Strangelove II
Nov 7, 2008 9:29 AM CST

Appoint Alan Keyes to an ambassadorship, likely to a post such as Moscow.  That ought to send a clear message to the Russians.

Seriously, he should address the 700 Billion dollar bailout and read the Riot Act to the banking community as to how those monies are to be used.

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17.

George Orwell
Nov 7, 2008 9:58 AM CST

1) Stop collaborating with mass murdering Marxist/anarchist bombers; 2)  ditch the plan for your “national security force” (a/k/a the Thought Police); 3) give up your house since it was fraudulently obtained with the aid of one of your close benefactors who is a felon; 4) stop the flow of HUD money to Liberation Marxists at A.C.O.R.N. who illegally used tax dollars to fraudulently register voters for YOU while they masquerade as 501(c)(3) community organizers;  5)  if you can tear yourself away from the mirror, have the moral courage to stand up to women enslaving, anti-demoracy Islamo-fascists in Iran, and within Hamas, Hezbolah, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, et al., here and abroad.  And, tell Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Charles Schumer that we know they are primarily responsible for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle that was the primary cause of the economic meltdown,  and that they seek opportunities as fertilizer salesmen.  Other than that, stop plagerizing speeches by Martin Luther King and John Kennedy.  You’ve never marched in Selma, you were too cowardly to wear a uniform and fight genocidal thugs in combat at risk of your life as have my Marines, and when we are attacked again by mass murdering Islamic killers,  the “Audacity of Hope” won’t save you while you’re curled up in a fetal position in your closet.  This is real life, not MTV.  Genocidal maniacs want to kill all of us.  YOU have to have the b*lls to stop them.

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18.

Hadley V. Baxendale
Nov 7, 2008 10:03 AM CST

Restore the rule of law both international and domestic.  After the last 8 years that may be an hard job.  A good place to start would be to nominate a good, solid, ethical attorney gendral.

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19.

Liberty
Nov 7, 2008 10:06 AM CST

(1)  Repeal Patriot Act;

(2)  Implement Tax Cuts for Working-Class and Lower-Middle-Class America; and

(3)  Withdrawal from Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Japan, Germany, Scotland, UK to use cost-savings to

(4)  NATION-BUILD the U.S.A.


Thanks!

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20.

Doornobprincipl
Nov 7, 2008 10:09 AM CST

Use his credibility, eloquence and bully pulpit to tell Americans how THEY can begin making changes that will benefit themselves, their neighbors, and the nation. 
Examples: 
(1) Start a process of paying down your total credit card debt, even if you can only reduce it by a dollar a week (one pack of cigarettes or two take-out coffees a month). 
(2) Invest in America.  Buy U.S. savings bonds (and/or other Treasury securities), just as U.S. citizens bought war bonds in WWII.  Every dollar a U.S. citizen invests in the U.S. Treasury is a dollar not controlled by “creative” tyros on Wall Street and not owed to a foreign power. 
(3-infinity)  Possibilities abound.  I can think of lots; so can every other reader of this posting; and more importantly, so can every citizen who is feeling powerless in the current economy.

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21.

Rwclawyer
Nov 7, 2008 10:21 AM CST

His priority must be to fulfill his promise to gather the absolute best and brightest into his cabinet and administration, regardless of which political party they may come from.  The litmus test should only be—will they work with the President to reestablish this country’s political, economic, and moral leadership in the world.

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22.

Post Baby Boomer
Nov 7, 2008 10:29 AM CST

Add to No. 19:

Pull out of NATO, which is anachronistic since the fall of the Soviet Union, and make all of those bureaucrats in Brussels unemployed.

And I agree get out of North Korea, which has an Army about 1/3 the size of the Army of South Korea, an economy about 1/4th the GDP of South Korea, a country about half the size of South Korea in population, and a country that borders on a Southern neighbor that for too long has used the U.S. as its baby sitter.  It’s time for the South Koreans to take care of themselves and not depend on the U.S. to protect it.  I have little or no respect for that country, which is full of cowards.

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23.

starving attorney
Nov 7, 2008 11:15 AM CST

You all must have full bellies these days…  How about creating some jobs so I can start to pay back those $150k+ in law school loans.

Oh, and prevent people like this from posting “in house counsel / internship” positions:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/lgl/899957109.html

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24.

Harry Truman
Nov 7, 2008 11:37 AM CST

As the 33rd president, and someone who thinks history is important, I would be remiss if did not reply to a comment set forth in nos. 19 and 22.  After all, “the buck stops here”.  Hold on to your seats, boys and girls, and Nos. 19 and 22, but there are no U.S. troos in “North” Korea to withdraw.  Can you say, “Communist cult dictatorship of Dear Leader”.  He was in all the papers in 1950.  You see, American troops are in “South” Korea because the North starves its dissidents in gulags, and has nuclear weapons that go BOOM.  And, now for some straight talk for your new president-elect: Those who ignore history, are doomed to repeat it. I thought you would benefit from a non-revisionist geographical and geopolitical lesson.  Oh, and for commenter No. 22,  calling the South Koreans “cowards”,  a million of whom were massacred wholesale in 1950 by North Korean Communists, and have since rebuilt their shattered country into a democracy, please.  Had I not sent in the First Marine Division, and only because Stalin’s thugs boycotted the Security Council meeting that day,  and China wasn’t yet a member,  the whole Korean peninsula, with the resources and population of what is now South Korea, would be the most dangerous dictatorship on earth second only to China and wherever Sharia law is enforced.  Just like Saddam’s mass graves with hundreds of thousands of people hung, dismembered, machine gunned, and then bulldozed into the desert,  or the Khmer Rouge mass murder of nearly 2 million during Jimmy Carter’s embarassing term,  the Left thinks that if you don’t acknowlege the inconvenient truth of genocide and mass graves,  that its not their concern.  By the way, have you seen the movie the “Killing Fields”?  My good friend Churchill -  Winston, not Ward - and I watched it together, and we highly recommend it for President-elect Obama and nos. 19 and 22.

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25.

Diana
Nov 7, 2008 11:49 AM CST

President-elect Obama should TODAY appoint a small committee of close advisors to go through all of Candidate Obama’s speeches and list all the promises Candidate Obama made.  Copies of that list should be circulated to all advisors and members of the Obama transition team and Cabinet.  The goal being to find ways to make good on these promises. 
 
President Obama should have as his number one priority to actively work to fulfill all the promises he made as a Candidate—that in itself would be a first.  (The mere acknowledgement of having made promises would be a first.)  The List of ‘promises made’ - ‘options to fulfill’ - ‘resolutions’ should be a very serious document that guides this presidency and potentially is used as reasons for a next term.  President-Elect Obama should begin this task now.

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26.

Dennis Juncer
Nov 7, 2008 12:18 PM CST

The list of what he should do is a lot longer that the one thing he shouldn’t do.  He should not bring Chicago politics to Washington.  (Punish your enimies and reward your friends.)
He should not listen to the leftist extremists who want to label everything Bush did as bad, and ignore the far right extremists who are going to criticize every thing he does because he did it.
He made uniting us a centerpiece of his campaign.  He needs to live up to that.

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27.

Middle of the Road
Nov 8, 2008 5:06 AM CST

(1) Cut current government spending. Massively.
(2) Use half he spending cuts to pay for infrastructure improvements. Allow the other half to begin working down our ridiculous national debt.
(3) Balance the budget EVERY YEAR just like states (except the idiots in California) do.
(4) If you keep your promise to go to war in Afghanistan again, do so with the sole purpose of permanently destroying the Taliban, even if that means more civilian casualties than you would like.  War is ugly and wars cannot be won without severe collateral damage. If you can’t deal with that reality, don’t send our troops to die for a political war that will never end in victory.
(5) Admit to all the people in Ohio and Michigan and other Rust Belt states that you “overstated” (read: lied) about being able to bring their jobs back.
(6) If you’re going to give people a tax break, do it as follows: an extra tax break for higher education. Don’t just give Americans money to spend on crap they don’t need, give them an incentive to get more education, which they do desperately need.

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28.

Marc LeBlanc
Nov 10, 2008 7:47 AM CST

Bring back liquid Prell.

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29.

Andrew Paterson
Nov 10, 2008 10:26 AM CST

The financial crisis is plainly in front of him as a top priority, but he needs to be prepared to be tested out of left field by those countries and/or their leaders that will try to take advantage of “the new kid in town.”  For example, will Putin and Russia sell five submarines to Venezuela in exchange for port priveleges and building a navy base?
The financial mess has plenty of attention and qualified players to give him good advice. The international scene always seems to surprise and confound new (young?) presidents.  President elect Obama would do well to pay more attention to his briefings in this area than he may want to.

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30.

Andy the Lawyer
Nov 11, 2008 10:50 AM CST

Buy the kids a cat.  Forget the dog.

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31.

Samuel Zuckerman
Nov 12, 2008 2:53 PM CST

He should begin bringing our troops home and telling Iraqis` we did what we could.  And begin the global peace process.

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32.

denise
Nov 12, 2008 5:19 PM CST

President Obama should start drilling for oil and split all the money from the sale of the oil and gas 80: federal government we can pay down our debt and 20% to the states that we are taking the oil and gas from so they can pay down their debt as well.  Later on he can adjust the ratio.  If he wants us to get off of dependency on oil, and we succeed, then we are not going to need oil anymore and also the other countries will not need the oil anymore either, so no one will want to buy oil anymore.  So why not start drilling now and sell it so we can pay off our debt without having to raise taxes.  Otherwise, we are going to end up preserving a resource that will no longer be of value and worthless.  Drill now and sell it.  Look at Saudi and Dubai they are all rich due to the sale of oil.  We need to get our country back into the black instead of being in the red with an umbelievable debt.  We all want to go green, but in the meantime take advantage of getting our country out of debt

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33.

BJ
Nov 14, 2008 9:25 AM CST

Even before taking office, he should immediately state that he is not going to pursue a capital gains tax increase, unless he wants to see the stock market plunge even further. 

And he should make Hilary the secretary of state.

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