President-elect Barack Obama walks to the podium for his
Inauguration as the 44th President at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20,
2009
On the way to his inaugural ball. Many have commented on Obama’s
relationship with his wife as a major factor in his retaining public support.
President Obama meets with the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition in the State Dining
Room on Feb. 10, 2009
This is a group of conservative democrats from the House of Representatives. This
means that they lean towards the right and could vote against Obama on key economic
decisions. It is important for him to keep them on his side.
Aboard Air Force One, a closeup of the
President’s signature on the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which he had
just signed in Denver, on Feb. 17, 2009
On Sunday night, March 29, 2009, aides listen
to a speaker phone as the President made calls
to alert officials about his plan to set deadlines
for General Motors and Chrysler overhauls that
were to be announced the next day.
President Obama greets Sonia Sotomayor prior
to her Investiture as an Associate Justice at the
U.S. Supreme Court, Sept. 8, 2009.
The President works on his health care speech with his chief speechwriter, Jon Favreau, in the
Oval Office, Sept. 9, 2009.
The Healthcare bill itself was amended many times as it passed through the House of
Representatives and Congress in order to gain votes for it Congressmen and women who
otherwise would vote against it.
This was the night, Jan. 20, 2010, after the special election in Massachusetts, when Republican
Scott Brown had unexpectedly won the Senate seat belonging to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
Brown's election deprived the Democrats of 60 votes in the Senate, putting in jeopardy the
passage of healthcare reform, a sentiment that you can see on the faces of the President and his
aides.
After dinner with his family on March 19, 2009,
the President works the phone in the Oval
Office to continue pressing Congressmen to
vote for the health care reform bill.
The Stupak-Pitts amendment
was proposed by a Democrat
and Republican Senator and
proposed to stop any federal
spending on abortions.
Obama needed the votes of the
Senators in support of this
amendment in order to pass the
ACA.
In the end it was not included in
the final Act, however Obama
signed an Executive Order which
added this amendment and so
gained the votes needed, but it
was also seen that he had to
compromise to get them.
The President, Vice President and senior staff applaud after watching on television the House
vote on H.R. 4872 for health care reform, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, March 21,
2010
Celebrating after finding out that the Supreme Court had not declared the Affordable Care
Act as unconstitutional. Had this challenge been successful ‘Obamacare’ would have had to
have been repealed.
President Obama talks with Rep. Eric Cantor,
the Republican Whip, after a meeting with
bipartisan Congressional leadership in the Oval
Office Private Dining Room, Nov. 30, 2010.
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner talk in the Oval Office
following a late night meeting on the budget, April 6, 2011.
After the President and Congress finally agreed on a bill to keep the government from shutting
down, the President decided to make an unannounced stop to thank tourists for visiting the
Lincoln Memorial the following day, April 9, 2011. The Memorial and other monuments and
national parks in Washington and across the country would have been forced to close had they
not come to an agreement. Here, the President greets a surprised young girl as other tourists in
the background snap pictures of their chance encounter with the President.
It is perhaps in foreign policy that the President’s
powers are strongest. The President becomes the
Commander in Chief of the US military, the most
powerful force in the world, the moment he is
sworn into office.
Only Congress can declare war. But, the
“Commander in Chief” can initiate military action
abroad without a formal declaration of war.
The President can also make treaties with other
countries (subject to 2/3 of the Senate agreeing).
"This was a difficult day
for the President, shown
here in the Oval Office
on June 23, 2010, after
he had made the
decision to replace Gen.
Stanley McChrystal with
Gen. David Petraeus as
the Commander of U.S.
Forces in Afghanistan.
The President and his national security team were gathered in the
Situation Room to discuss the developing events in Egypt on Feb. 1,
2011. An aide rushed in to say that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
was making a live televised statement, so the feed was patched in so
everyone could watch Mubarak. In the midst of days of protests calling
for his ouster, Mubarak in this statement said he would step down at
the end of his term
"The President gives
the final authorization
for the armed forces
of the United States to
begin a limited
military action in Libya
in support of an
international effort to
protect Libyan
civilians during a
conference call in
Brazil, March 19,
2011.
President Barack Obama edits his remarks in the Outer Oval
Office prior to making a televised statement detailing the
mission against Osama bin Laden, May 1, 2011. Vice President
Biden, Press Secretary Jay Carney and are also pictured
• The President and First Lady greet troops following remarks to mark the
end of America’s war in Iraq, at Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, Dec. 14, 2011.
The President and First Lady wait for Indian
Prime Minister Singh’s motorcade to depart
the White House at the conclusion of the first
official state dinner for the Obama
administration, Nov. 24, 2009.
Obama starts his term of office with
a tour around the Middle East in an
attempt to extend a hand of
friendship and diplomacy. Here he
visits the Blue Mosque in Turkey.
Obama and the US play a key role in improving
relations between Israel and Palestine.
Visiting Moscow
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev talk over lunch during an
unannounced trip to Ray's Hell Burger in
Arlington, Va., June 24, 2010.
President Obama talks with Prime Minster of
India Manmohan Singh during a the State
Dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential
palace, in New Dehli, India, Nov. 8, 2010.
Visiting the Great Buddha of Kamakura, in
Japan, the President had a green tea ice cream
bar with his hosts, Nov. 14, 2010.
Late at night in the Treaty Room office in the
White House residence, Nov. 23, 2010, the
President talks on the phone with President
Lee Myung-bak of South Korea after North
Korea had conducted an artillery attack against
the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.
The President, the First Lady and President Hu
Jintao of China descend the Grand Staircase of
the White House before a formal State Dinner,
Jan. 19, 2011.
Visiting the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro
After a meeting with Eurozone leaders
adjacent to the G20 Summit in Cannes, France,
the President gave encouragement to German
Chancellor Angela Merkel as they departed the
meeting, Nov. 3, 2011
President Obama meets with Eurozone leaders
on the Laurel Cabin patio during the G8
Summit at Camp David, Md., May 19, 2012
Conclusion
• The role of the President is undoubtedly an influential and busy
role.
• Obama has to successfully deal with the expectations of those who
voted for him and also the reality of political life.
• In order to successfully govern he must be able to maintain good
relations with the Republican party, particularly when they control
the House of Representatives. The stalemates that developed after
the 2010 mid-Term elections over the budget showed how easily
the system can grind to a halt when there is no consensus. As the
leader the President must be able to ‘persuade’ and influence
people in order to keep the Federal Government effective. Obama
has managed to achieve this to a certain extent. He has managed
to pass key legislation to deal with the recession as well as passing
Healthcare reform, and ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not easy tasks given the many challenges he has faced to do this.