Zander blom biography of barack obama

In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U. Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies.

However, the long-standing U. Kennedyremained in effect. On March 20,Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba sinceas part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Just prior to the trip, on March 10,Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.

In Augustthe Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnellwho was then the Republican minority leader.

In Februarythe Supreme Court ruled,to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants. Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources.

Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by On October 5,the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a zander blom biography of barack obama number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to zander blom biography of barack obama effect starting on November 4, Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.

In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present year-old U. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April when Neil Gorsuchnominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.

The presidents granted a total of 1, clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manningthe U. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate.

Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School 20 children and six adult fatalities in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater 12 fatalities ; a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina 9 fatalities ; and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 49 fatalities.

Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:. On January 27,Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed.

In his State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks. With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies.

On January 12,Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. On January 10,Obama returned to his adopted home city of Chicago to deliver his farewell address. In his speech, Obama spoke about his early days in the Windy City and his continued faith in the power of Americans who participate in their democracy. He called on politicians and American citizens to come together despite their differences.

But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. Obama also appealed for tolerance along racial and ethnic lines and curbing discrimination:. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change—but in yours.

In MayBarack and Michelle finalized a multi-year deal with Netflix to create exclusive content for the streaming service through their production company, Higher Ground. The fruits of the collaboration first appeared with the August release of American Factoryan Oscar-winning documentary about the launch of a Chinese-owned automotive glass factory in Dayton, Ohio, and the clash of differing cultures and business interests.

The Obamas helped produce the documentary Crip Campwhich was nominated for best documentary feature at the Academy Awards. Higher Ground has expanded into podcasts, including Renegades: Born in the USA —a series of conversations between Barack and musician Bruce Springsteen about life, music, and their love for America. The complex would be home to a Chicago Public Library branch, a museum, as well as office and activity spaces for the foundation.

In JulyJackson Park was selected as the host site. Construction began in Augustand a groundbreaking ceremony was held the following month with Barack, Michelle, Illinois Governor J. Pritzker, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot all in attendance. During his tenure, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and the health threat posed by avian flu.

He partnered with another Republican, Senator Richard Lugar of Indianaon a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. In AugustObama traveled to Kenya, where thousands of people lined the streets to welcome him. He published his second book, The Audacity of Hopein October On February 10,Obama formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

A victory in the Iowa primary made him a viable challenger to the early frontrunner, the former first lady and current New York Senator Hillary Clintonwhom he outlasted in a grueling primary campaign to claim the Democratic nomination in early June Obama chose Joseph R. Biden Jr. Biden had been a U. They worked to bring new voters—many of them young or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to become involved in the election.

With several weeks remaining, most polls showed Obama as the frontrunner. On November 4, lines at polling stations around the nation heralded a historic turnout and resulted in a Democratic victory, with Obama capturing some Republican strongholds VirginiaIndiana and key battleground states FloridaOhio that had been won by Republicans in recent elections.

We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there. Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha Sashawere born in andrespectively. Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in and served there for eight years.

Inhe was elected by a record majority to the US Senate from Illinois and, in Februaryannounced his candidacy for president. When President Obama took office, he faced very significant challenges.

Zander blom biography of barack obama

The economy was officially in a recession, and the outgoing administration of George W. Bush had begun to implement a controversial "bail-out" package to try to help struggling financial institutions. In foreign affairs, the United States still had troops deployed in difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the first two years of his first term, President Obama was able to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress to improve the economy, pass health-care reform legislation, and withdraw most US troops from Iraq.

After the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives inthe president spent significant time and political effort negotiating, for the most part unsuccessfully, with congressional Republicans about taxes, budgets, and the deficit. The rifle-shot topic which has long been of great interest to me is the question of what makes a great president and how would one really attempt to go about comparing presidents from different eras who each faced a variety of dissimilar challenges.

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