Leonard Doyle
London Independent
November 10, 2008
Beset by war on two fronts, a rapidly emptying national Treasury and the worst economic crisis in decades, Barack Obama and George Bush are trying to ensure that the transfer of power between them goes as smoothly as possible.
The President-elect and Mr Bush will begin substantive discussions on the handover today when the Obamas visit the White House. Though far from a backslapping relationship, both President Bush and Mr Obama are said to share a common desire for a smooth transition and for the new administration to hit the ground running before further problems pile up.
There are widespread expectations that the new President will be quickly tested abroad, either by acts of terrorism or direct challenges to United States interests by countries such as Iran or Russia.
It is also obvious that the mood of co-operation may well snap before the 20 January inauguration as Mr Obama presses for access to confidential documents and lays out plans to reverse Mr Bush’s controversial legacy.
In a radio address over the weekend Mr Obama he said his first priority is an economic recovery programme. Now the debate is whether to tackle health care, climate change and energy independence all at once or to stagger them. But his team is discouraging talk of a fast-paced 100-day agenda.
Mr Obama has made clear for months, however, that he wants to scrap as many as 200 of the most controversial decisions of Mr Bush’s eight years in office. A team of 48 advisers is already drawing up a list of measures they intend to undo, relating to torture, federal funding for stem cell research, reproductive rights and climate change.
As soon as he takes over Mr Obama is expected to issue an executive order declaring that CO2 emissions from factories are a danger to human welfare, a big leap forward in the battle to reverse the effects of climate change. He will also reverse a decision to prevent California from regulating CO2 emissions from cars. At the stroke of a pen Mr Obama is expected to wipe out many Bush-era policies that have caused angst abroad, including the global ban on US aid for family planning groups abroad that provide any advice on abortion.
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