Actions I wish Presdient Obama would take.

[Kaleva]

1. Come out in favor of a single payer health plan such as medicare for all.

2. Lift the travel ban on Cuba and work to restore diplomatic relations with that nation.

3. Commute the sentence of all those on death row to a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

4. Admit that the war on drugs is a failure and ask that marijuana be legalized and hard drugs be decriminalized. Addicts could get their fixes at designated health centers.

5. Oppose any renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban.

6. Push for a rapid grant of citizenship for those law abiding illegal immigrants in country while at the same time greatly increase the border patrol and make other efforts to reduce illegal immigration.

Those are a few.

I don't expect that President Obama will actually take any of the above actions. However, I'm quite pleased with what he has done so far and will not hesitate to vote for him again in the 2012 primary and general election.

[SeattleGirl]

1. I can't respond to all your points, but I can respond to a couple:

2. Lift the travel ban on Cuba and work to restore diplomatic relations with that nation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/13/some-cuba-travel-restrict_n_186197.html

5. Oppose any renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1

As to the others:

1. Come out in favor of a single payer health plan such as medicare for all.

I hear you on this, but he would still have to leap over the heads of Congress, which as we all know, includes Republicans and Blue Dogs. Maybe this is one we will have to do state by state instead of by the Federal government. I don't know; I could be wrong.

3. Commute the sentence of all those on death row to a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of
parole.

While I would love to see this too, as I am strongly opposed to the death penalty, I think this gets into the territory of state's rights, and could bring him far more grief than accomplishment here.

4. Admit that the war on drugs is a failure and ask that marijuana be legalized and hard drugs be
decriminalized. Addicts could get their fixes at designated health centers.

I would like to see that too, but what I'm seeing is that more and more Americans are in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. It would be a start. Things like meth, though, I can't agree with legalizing. That stuff is nasty, and like second-hand smoke, can be very harmful to people who have no interest in using it. I don't care for a second-hand pot high, but I really don't want to be around meth at all. I do believe that some things ought not be legalized.

6. Push for a rapid grant of citizenship for those law abiding illegal immigrants in country while at the same time greatly increase the border patrol and make other efforts to reduce illegal immigration.

I think this is one of those third rail issues that would raise all kinds of hell, and something that can't just be granted by Obama. Personally, I think that people who employ illegal immigrants need to be slapped upside the head, as they contribute to the problem (cheap labor), but it's usually just the immigrants who get kicked in the shins. I don't think that's fair. On the other hand, I still believe in "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free." To me, this is a sticky one. I think it should be done fairly for both legal Americans and for illegal immigrants; HOW it can be done, though, is not something I think I'm knowledgeable enough to respond to more than I have.

[benEzra]

2. Holder was way out of line when he said that...

5. Oppose any renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6960824&page=1

Holder was way out of line when he said that Obama is going to push for a new Scary Handgrip Ban, and the administration quickly laid a well-deserved STFU on him. Note that the story in question was from early 2009.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this issue will stay dead.