I could give you a list of accomplishments or give you what I think is a nice read on Senator Obama's accomplsihments, background and what he would be like as the next president of the United States:
Senator Obama has ten years of senate experience: eight years in Springfield, and two years in Washington, D.C. In reviewing Senator Obama's 10 years of senate experience, two themes are prominent: when his party was in the minority for 8 of those 10 years, Senator Obama seemed focused on looking for pragmatic, nonpartisan ways to pass bills while working with the Republican majority. In the only 2 years in which his party was in the majority, and he had the votes to pass the bills he wanted, Senator Obama was a champion of the powerless - while still considering Republican concerns and treating them with respect.
Barack Obama is a progressive. He has an 82.5 liberal rating in 2005 by the National Journal. On votes in the U.S. Senate that were decided largely along party lines, Senator Obama sided with the Democrats 97% of the time. And he had a liberal voting record in the Illinois State Senate. In 2006, he received 100% approval rating from: The League of Conservation Voters (he opposed drilling in ANWR, and in parts of Gulf of Mexico); AFL-CIO (he sponsored legislation blocking overtime restrictions by the Bush administration); Planned Parenthood. The National Education Association gives him an "A" on their most recent scorecard.
His eight years in Springfield are important for many reasons. It demonstrated: his political courage (e.g. to oppose bills he believes are unconstitutional); the ease with which he interacted with Republicans (socially, and in political negotiations); his work ethic, as he drafted many bills that became law; his ability to quickly absorb complex issues; his desire to carefully consider all opinions; his efforts to incorporate into his bills the ideas of both Democrats and Republicans; and, most importantly, it gave him the opportunity to handle many of the same political issues and bills that face U.S. senators and presidential candidates. I will elaborate on each of these below.
In an interview, Senator Obama stated that his signature bills while in Springfield, the ones he's most proud of, were: expanding Kidcare (health insurance for an additional 20,000 Illinois children); welfare reform (a bipartisan bill passed in Republican controlled senate, generating major headlines); earned income tax credit (tax relief for working poor families); and death penalty reform. (He supports the death penalty in exceptional circumstances, but wanted all interrogations to be videotaped. Initially viewed as a highly controversial proposal, Senator Obama listened to all sides of the debate, incorporated ideas from many individuals, and the result was a bill that passed the Senate 58-0, and was signed into law by a governor who originally opposed Senator Obama's bill.)
Though not cited by Senator Obama in the same interview, I would add to his major achievements in Springfield: campaign finance reform; and ethics reform. These were considered major accomplishments in Illinois. When Senator Obama entered the Illinois Senate, he told Emil Jones, the Democratic majority leader in the Illinois Senate, that he wanted to work hard. He asked Senator Jones to send him any difficult assignments. On the issue of campaign finance reform, he was handpicked by Mr. Jones to lead the Democrats' senate efforts at campaign finance reform. (Senator Obama wanted to limit individual contributions, but nipped and tucked seeking consensus. Obama was pragmatic. The result was the most ambitious campaign finance reform in nearly 25 years, according to good government groups.)
Senator Obama demonstrated political courage in opposing bills he believed were unconstitutional or poorly written, even if the vote could later be used in misleading 30 second commercials against him. He opposed a bill to toughen penalties for violent crimes committed by gang activity, because the bill didn't clearly define a gang member, and seemed targeted at Hispanics and Blacks. (This does not mean he is soft on crime. He also voted for, or sponsored, over 100 bills to strengthen criminal penalties (e.g. against sex offenders, domestic violence, drug dealers)). He opposed a bill that allowed home owners to use a gun in self defense in their homes. (He opposed that bill because it only applied to towns that already prohibited any private citizen from possessing a handgun. He opposed it because the law could lead to homeowners using guns in the street. He also wanted to defer to local governments.) He also opposed a measure which proponents claimed was designed to protect "live babies born during abortion procedures." (He felt the measure would define a fetus as a person and criminalize every abortion.) His death penalty reform bill was also given little chance of being passed into law, yet was eventually passed by unanimous consent of the Senate. (Audacity of Hope, pp 58-59)
The clearest example of Senator Obama's political courage was his vocal opposition to war in Iraq in 2002. At the time, many Democrats with national ambition were supporting George W Bush's posture on Iraq. At the time, Bush and the war still had public support.
The ease with which Senator Obama works with Republicans is demonstrated, not only in Springfield, but both before and after. There were several reasons he was elected President of Harvard Law Review: his grades (graduating magna cum laude); his writing ability; and his friendships with many of the conservatives on the Law Review who felt he would always consider their opinions. In Springfield, he played very low stakes poker with both Democratic and Republican friends. He also played basketball with them. He was liked and/or respected by every Republican state senator whose interview I have encountered thus far. When he spoke on the floor of the state senate, people listened; and even if they disagreed with him, they knew he spoke with conviction. And in the U.S. Senate, his closest friend is Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), a conservative Republican. They entered the Senate at the same time, and they and their wives immediately hit it off and became close friends. As a result, they were able to work together to pass the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act.
In Springfield, Senator Obama demonstrated a remarkable work ethic. Not only did he tell Senator Jones he was ready to work hard, he followed through. When Democrats finally achieved a majority in the state senate, Senator Obama was elevated to Chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee; 2003-2004 were the only two years Barack Obama has ever been in a political majority in either Illinois or (until recently) Washington, D.C. During those two years, he sponsored 780 bills, and 280 of those were signed into law.
He sponsored laws against discrimination of gays in employment and housing. (It passed after he left Springfield.) He work on a ban on assault weapons. He supported a bill to allow retired officers can carry concealed weapons. He worked worked for legislation to expand health insurance coverage. (He proposed a study on how to provide universal health care to everyone in Illinois backed by a single payer health care plan run by the state.) He helped pass bills to increase aids funding. He sponsored a bill to investigate racial profiling by police, essentially second guessing police officers. (By incorporating the best ideas from all sides on this and other bills, he even managed to win the endorsement of the state police officers union when he ran for U.S. Senate.)
Senator Obama has a reputation of being a quick study on complex political issues. Many in Springfield commented on this - so has Senator Lugar in Washington, D.C. (Together, they sponsored the Lugar-Obama Bill. It's an anti-proliferation bill that expands on existing efforts to locate and destroy WMDs, e.g. shoulder fired missiles and antipersonnel mines.)
Senator Obama had a desire to consider all opinions, and to incorporate the views of both Democrats and Republicans. He led the fight to require that all police interrogations be videotaped in death penalty cases. (This was a controversial bill which cited as an example of Obama considering all sides on an issue.)
Eight years in Springfield gave Senator Obama many opportunities to work on the political issues that face all active senators at both the state and federal level, as well as the president: ethics reform; campaign finance reform; welfare reform; considering universal health care, and expanding health care for children; laws banning discrimination against gays and lesbians; overhauled the capital punishment system; funded a systematic investigation of racial profiling; voted to increase the minimum wage (from $5.15 to 6.50); helped pass earned income credit for working poor families; voted for embryonic stem cell research; voted to end $300 million in tax breaks for businesses.
Some dismiss Obama's victory in the U.S. Senate campaign because he had only nominal competition in the general election. However, he soundly defeated a crowded field of better known, better financed Democrats in the primaries. He defeated Blair Hull. Hull had sold his trading business to Goldman Saches for $531 million, and during the primaries outspent Obama 6:1. (Hull wasn't a charismatic candidate, and was further sunk by an allegation of ugly run-ins with ex wife.) (Audacity of Hope, pp 111-113) But Obama also defeated Dan Hynes, Illinois state comptroller, in the same primaries. Hynes had been endorsed by 85 of 102 Democratic county chairmen, and by the AFL CIO. (But Obama was endorsed by the state teachers union, and unions representing the textile, hotel and food service employees, as well as the state police union.) (Audacity of Hope, pp 117-118)
Some say that Obama lost touch with Illinois after being elected to the U.S. Senate. They argue that Obama was too busy flying around the country, campaigning and fundraising for other Democratic candidates. But in his first first year as U.S. Senator, Senator Obama held 39 town hall meetings throughout Illinois. (Audacity of Hope, p 101)
In his first two years in the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama was back in his familiar role as member of the minority party. Republicans tightly controlled the U.S. Senate, and it was very difficult for any Democratic Senator to get a bill passed. During that time, Senator Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions, and cosponsored 427 more.
Senator Obama thus far has two bills which became law, that have his name on them. The Lugar-Obama bill which I've already discussed, expands efforts to destroy WMDs (e.g. in the former Soviet states). And the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act. The Transparency Act created a website managed by OMB for ensuring transparency of funds allocated to government agencies. It tracks all federal spending, and allows Google-type searches based on agency, types of funding, etc.
One of his first bills after being elected to the U.S. Senate was a proposal to increased Pell Grants, thereby fulfilling a campaign promise. Unfortunately, in the tightly controlled Republican Senate, this bill didn't make it out of committee.
Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment in the U.S. Senate happened on January 18, 2007. That is when the Senate passed a major ethics/lobbying reform bill. (Senator Obama had voted against a prior ethics reform bill that he said wasn't tough enough.) Newspapers give Senators Obama and Russ Feingold significant credit for insisting that this latest ethics bill included tough measures. Obama risked some political capital to get this bill passed. The bill bans gifts/meals from lobbyists; puts an end to subsidized corporate jets; requires full disclosure of earmarks (who are the earmarks for, and for what purpose); places restrictions on retiring members of Congress going immediately into lobbying; requires lobbyists to disclose bundling of contributions to Congress, candidates or committees. This was a HUGE victory for Senator Obama. It still needs to be reconciled with a House version of the bill, and then signed by the president.
Senator Democratic leader Harry Reid has designated Barack Obama as the Democrats' point man on ethics, citing three reasons for his selection: whenever Obama walks into a room, everyone stops talking and listens to what he has to say; Obama is known for having unquestionable ethics and integrity; Obama's expertise on ethics and campaign reform while in Springfield made him a leading expert on those same issues in the U.S. Senate. This last point can't be emphasized enough. The fact that Obama mastered, and led the fight, on so many complex political issues in eight years in Springfield gave him a huge head start in addressing the same complex issues at the federal level.
Senator Obama has also sponsored the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007. It would cap troops at January 10, 2007 levels, begin withdrawal by May 1, 2007, and call for complete withdrawal of combat brigades by March 31 of 2008. Withdrawal would be postponed if Iraq meets certain benchmarks. This is consistent with the Iraq Study Group. (Solely from memory, I believe this study group was chaired by Lee Hamilton and James Baker III.) Bill Richardson wants complete withdrawal by end of 2007. Hillary Clinton has called for a phased withdrawal of troops starting in 90 days. John Edwards 40,000-50,000 troops withdrawn immediately, and the remainder withdrawn within 12-18 months.
Senator Obama also has experience and judgment on foreign policy. He is on the senate committees for foreign relations; homeland security; veterans affairs; health, education, labor and pensions. He studied political science with an emphasis on international relations and Columbia. And he's gone on three major trips overseas as part of an official Senate delegation, meeting with U.S. generals, and/or foreign leaders. He and Senator Lugar travelled to the former Soviet states to inspect the destruction of WMDs; he traveled to Iraq and met with U.S. generals, and also toured Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories (he told Palestinian Authority President MahMoud Abbas that US would never recognize Hamas leaders until they renounced mission to eliminate Israel.); he visited various African countries, including Kenya (his father's homeland), and publicly took an AIDS test to show people in Africa that it was ok and even socially responsible to have an AIDS test.
He has backed various plans for lessening reliance on Middle East oil. He has offered the big three domestic automakers a deal: the federal government pays 10% of health care costs of their retired employees, if the automakers will commit to building more fuel efficient cars. He has also called for increased fuel efficiency standards (3 percent every year for 15 years). He's encouraged use of ethnanol as an alternative fuel.
He embraces religion, and invokes his Christian faith in public discourse. But he writes repeatedly in Audacity of Hope that he also believes in separation of church and state. "Contrary to the claims of many on the Christian right who rail against the separation of church and state, their argument is not with a handful of liberal sixties judges. It is with the drafters of the Bill of Rights and the forebears of today's evangelical church." (Audacity of Hope, pp 216-7) He notes that neither his mother nor step-father were religious. (Audacity of Hope, pp 202-205) His maternal grandfather was raised Baptist, and his maternal grandmother's family was Methodists, but neither was very religious. (Audacity of Hope, pp 202-203) Barack Obama's father was raised a Muslim, but was a confirmed atheist by the time he met Barack Obama's mother. (Audacity, p 204)
At least in theory, Senator Obama opposes the use of filibusters to stop judicial nominations. He recalls how this practice was abused by white southern politicians to stall civil rights legislation for many years. (Audacity of Hope, p 80-83) Instead, he believes in the democratic process to bring about justice.
In Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama anticipates nearly every argument that will later be used against his presidential campaign. He notes what many of us already knew: after the civil rights and voting rights acts of 1964 and 1965, LBJ predicted that the South would vote Republican thereafter. (Audacity of Hope, p 27) The people who will vote against him because of his skin color will already be voting against him because of his politics. (My own observation: Bill Clinton is sometimes referred to as America's first Black president because he appointed many people of color to government posts. How many racists could have been cheering when Bill Clinton said we should mend affirmative action, not end it?)
Senator Obama believes the debate between "free trade" and "fair trade" doesn't address the underlying issues that need to be resolved in order for America to be competitive in a global economy. Fair trade would force other countries to enforce minimum wage laws, environmental laws, child labor laws, and address artificially low currency exchange rates, etc. But fair trade can't address the oversupply of cheap labor in other countries, automation of factories, increased efficiencies in production that require fewer workers (and outsourcing). (Audacity of Hope, pp 172-174) Senator Obama believes the answer is in better K-12 education, especially in math and science, and better job training and retraining for displaced American workers. Teachers should be paid more, especially in math and science, as should teachers in certain inner-city schools; they should be given more autonomy, but also be held accountable for showing their students are learning; he would adjust performance reviews to factor for higher scores in more affluent neighborhoods, and supplement teacher evaluations with peer review. He would reform the teacher certification process so people with certain skills could obtain teaching certificates after taking fewer classes. (Audacity of Hope, 161-163) He favors having some charter schools. He would increase government assistance for access to post secondary education, through Pell grants, low interest loans, tax free educational savings accounts, and/or make tuition and costs fully tax deductible. (Audacity of Hope, 164-165) He cites Robert Rubin's conclusion that open trade, if combined with government support for top quality education, will be a net gain for our country. (Audacity of Hope, p 175) (Obama doesn't refer to either free or fair trade at this point.) But he voted against the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), because he felt that Bush hadn't done enough to show American workers that its government was on their side. (Audacity of Hope, pp 172-176) (By that, I assume Obama means Bush hasn't done enough to prepare American workers to compete in a global economy.) In contrast, he has backed a free trade agreement with the Middle East country of Oman. He reasoned that the financial impact to the U.S. was small, and worth it to expand engagement with the region.
Here are a few major bills Senator Obama has voted on the U.S. Senate that undecided voters may ask you about.
Senator Obama cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, S-2611, sponsored by John McCain. It passed the Senate on May 25, 2006, by a vote of 62-36. Republicans largely opposed the bill, Democrats largely supported the bill. (Curiously, George W Bush, having been governor of a border state, has a fairly sophisticated understanding of this issue.) Under this bill, undocumented persons (my phrasing) who have been in the country five or more years would be allowed to stay and apply for citizenship, provided they pay back taxes, learn English and have no serious criminal records. Undocumented persons who have been in the United States between 2-5 years would eventually have to return to a point of entry in Mexico or Canada and apply for a green card, which could allow their immediate return. The roughly 2 million undocumented persons who have been in the United States for less than two years would be ordered home.
Senator Obama opposed S-256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. The title of the bill is misleading. The most significant change in bankruptcy law in 25 years, it would require many people filing for bankruptcy to repay a portion of their debt under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code rather than allowing them to erase it almost entirely under the more commonly used Chapter 7. Those opposing the bill said the bill didn't take into account dire situations faced by those who face divorce, disease, job loss, and other crises. Curiously, Hillary Clinton did not vote on this historic bill. (I would just note that many of the creditors and banks who benefit from this bill have strong ties to New York.)
On June 22, 2006, the Senate voted on two amendments regarding withdrawal of troops from Iraq. John Kerry offered an amendment to S-2766 for withdrawal of nearly all American troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007. All 55 Republicans joined 31 Democrats (including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) in voting "no" on the measure. However, on the same day, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton voted "yes" on the Levin-Reed amendment to S-2766, a nonbinding proposal urging President Bush to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq this year.
Senator Obama also voted "yes" on: stem cell research (H R 810); modified Patriot Act (H R 3199); curtailing ability of plaintiffs to file class action lawsuits against corporations (Hillary Clinton voted no on this bill).
He voted "no" on: constitutional amendment banning flag burning (S J Res 12); gay marriage amendment (vote 163 on a cloture of debate motion, effectively killing the amendment); extending Bush's tax cuts (H R 4297); confirmation of Samuel Alito; $40 bilion in cuts from welfare, child support and student lending programs (vote 363); confirmation of John Roberts, Jr. (vote 245); confirmation of John Bolton for U.N. Ambassador (vote 142 on cloture motion, blocking the confirmation for a second time); CAFTA (S 1307).
Daewoo Kim
Seattle, Washington
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post_group/1000AmericansforObama/CHjY
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