President Barack Obama’s fledgling second term agenda so far reads like a progressive wish list. In less than a week, he’s vowed to tackle climate change, expand gay rights and protect government entitlements. His administration lifted a ban on women in combat and expanded opportunities for disabled students. Proposals for stricter gun laws have already been unveiled and plans for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, are coming soon.WASHINGTON – From gun control to gay rights, President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda is shaping up as an unabashedly liberal wish list.
In less than a week, he’s vowed to tackle climate change and protect government entitlements. His administration has lifted a ban on women in combat and expanded opportunities for disabled students. Proposals for stricter gun laws have already been unveiled, and plans for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, are coming next week.
Obama’s full embrace of such an agenda suggests a president both freed for action by his re-election win and seeking to capitalize on it.
“There is a deep recognition that he has a short period of time to get a lot done,” said Jennifer Psaki, Obama’s 2012 campaign spokeswoman. “The American people are seeing a man who is determined to finish what he started in his first term, pushing through his agenda without the burden of running for re-election.”
But following through and winning approval for his proposals will require cooperation from a Congress that is nearly as divided now as it was before the November elections.