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Subscribe to RSSWith less than a month before his inauguration the President shares his four biggest priorities for his second term in office.
While all eyes remain fixated on the nation’s budget woes and the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations, President Barack Obama told NBC News on Sunday that he has more ambitious goals in mind for his second term.
In an exclusive interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama said that there are several major issues sitting atop his agenda for the next four years, including immigration, economic growth, energy issues, the environment, and gun violence.
The president discussed efforts to address gun violence and immigration with particular urgency on Sunday.
"I've said that fixing our broken immigration system is a top priority," he said. "I will introduce legislation in the first year to get that done. I think we have talked about it long enough."
And in the aftermath of December's deadly elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the president vowed to put his "full weight" behind the gun violence recommendations he asked Vice President Joe Biden to generate.
Recommended: Obama on Benghazi: 'This was a huge problem'
Obama said that battle would also be fought during the first year of his second term, the success of which the president suggested would hinge upon just how searing the deadly shooting was to the public psyche.
President Barack Obama says "I think anybody who was up in Newtown, who talked to the parents, who talked to the families understands that something fundamental in America has to change."
"Will there be resistance? Absolutely there will be resistance," the president told NBC's David Gregory. "And the question then becomes whether we are actually shook up enough by what happened here that it does not just become another one of these routine episodes where it gets a lot of attention for a couple of weeks and then it drifts away. It certainly won't feel like that to me. This is something that was the worst day of my presidency. And it's not something that I want to see repeated."
Obama also said he was "skeptical" of the National Rifle Association's proposal to put an armed guard in every school, though he said he would not "prejudge" any proposals to address mass shooting events.
Those items alone might constitute an ambitious agenda for a second-term president, who, history suggests, has a limited timetable to accomplish top goals before the waning powers of a lame-duck presidency set in.
Key staffers huddle behind closed doors against the backdrop of a snowy capital as they attempt to hammer a last-minute deal to avoid going over the so-called fiscal cliff. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.
But Obama added to that list two other priorities which eluded him in his first term. He said energy and the environment would be a "third thing" on his second term agenda, for instance.
"We've got a huge opportunity around energy. We are producing more energy and America can become an energy exporter," the president said. "How do we do that in a way that also deals with some of the environmental challenges that we have at the same time?"
The president acknowledged, though, that his top priority is preventing automatic tax hikes on all Americans come Jan. 1 as part of the fiscal cliff. That battle has been playing out vividly in Washington during the final days of 2012, and directly involves the fourth priority as described by Obama: stabilizing and growing the economy.
"Part of that is deficit reduction. Part of it is also making sure that we're investing, for example, in rebuilding our infrastructure, which is broken," he said, arguing that the combination of spending cuts elsewhere and new investments would help stabilize the economy.
But Obama's ability to accomplish those four priorities — and then some — could be sapped by the protracted fiscal cliff battle, or any of the other legislative battles he might encounter along the way.
Related: Obama: GOP's insistence on halting tax hikes for the wealthy is stopping fiscal cliff deal
Immigration reform, for instance, had failed to advance over the objections of Republicans during Obama's first term. He said during the campaign that he would seek comprehensive reforms again in his second term, predicting that, if Republicans fared poorly enough with Hispanic voters during the election, they might relent in their opposition to an immigration bill.
Pete Souza / White House Photo
President Barack Obama is interviewed by David Gregory of NBC's "Meet The Press" in the Blue Room of the White House, Dec. 29, 2012. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
In fact, the GOP did not fare particularly well with the increasingly important bloc of Latino voters, but the question of whether they would relent on immigration reform was an untested proposition.
Other tough battles that could inhibit these goals include pending Cabinet confirmations. While Obama has nominated a new secretary of state — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry — he denied having settled upon former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as his new secretary of defense. But Obama also shielded Hagel, reportedly a front-runner for the defense gig, by saying he sees nothing in the former senator's record as disqualifying.
And there were other second term commitments Obama resisted; he would not commit to significant reforms to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security during the first year of his second term, for instance.
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, President Barack Obama tells David Gregory he's optimistic the fiscal cliff can be averted, lays out the goals for his second term, and also discusses the Benghazi attack and how it was handled by the administration and those on Capitol Hill.
At several points in his "Meet the Press" appearance, Obama referenced President Abraham Lincoln and the recently-released film about Lincoln's pursuit of the 13th Amendment, and the trade-offs needed to achieve that goal. Obama invoked that example on both gun control and the fiscal cliff, saying that while he was not comparing himself to Lincoln, that movie offered a lesson in the occasional ugliness of political leadership.
"A, I never compare myself to Lincoln and, B, obviously the magnitude of the issues are quite different from the Civil War and slavery," he said. "The point, though, is democracy's always been messy. And we're a big, diverse country that is constantly sort of arguing about all kinds of stuff. But eventually we do the right thing."
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What about our troops in Afghanistan? How come they're not on his agenda? Maybe he forgot about them.
maybe the economy too? just sayin...
?????Quess WHO I AM POSTING THIS ABOUT???
TAKE THE QUIZ IF YOU DARE...
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and
necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable
to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the
State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for
that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to
pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of
new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of
their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms
of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without
the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior
to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent
to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any
Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its
Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for
introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws,
and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign
Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already
begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the
most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends
and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian
Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these
Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our
repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose
character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be
the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in
attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of
attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.
We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement
here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have
conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations,
which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too
have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,
therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold
them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of
America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of
the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these
United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that
they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought
to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have
full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,
and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection
of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes
and our sacred Honor.
Noah Webster (Founding Father) believed that having an armed public would
prevent the government from becoming corrupted because the people would have
more power than the government itself. He wrote:
"Before a standing
army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom
in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the
sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in
the United States."
No, the Ruinanation of America is Top Priority for the Obummer One. He should make David Gregory the Head of State for all of the easy questions and lap dog responses that he gave Obummer. NBC what a joke for over 20 years!!!!
Where are the good paying jobs promised?
Democracy=communism. Anybody remember the republic where a vocal simple majority could not impose their will upon the rest of us?
Illegal immigration and illegal gun use, should be the headline.
There are just over 8,000 gun deaths a year. There are just over 11,000 deaths due to drunk driving. There are over 30,000 deaths a year from automobile accidents. We we be doing society much more good to ban alcohol and/or automobiles? Gun control is not about gun control. It's just about control.
Obama is "skeptical of putting an armed guard in every school."
If our president doesn't realize that we need at least several or perhaps many armed guards per school then he needs to get the bleep out of office. If he doesn't realize that this kind of violence requires immediate armed resistance in order to stop an attack and save innocent children then he needs to get out.
You cannot let a person go into a school on a suicide mission and kill as many innocent children as they can. We all know this and yet many still keep their head in the sand because they don't want to have to think about it.
Skeptical about armed guards in schools? Spoken by a guy whose children and the children of David Gregory and other rich folks attend Sidwell Friends school that has, guess what? Armed guards. The rich are SO HYPOCRITICAL. If armed guards right for them and their children, why not for everyone else?
"Immigration reform" = Amnesty to 15 millions of criminal aliens = destruction of America
How about HWY violence? That's where all the killers are.
Democrats, which Obama would you like us to believe?
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of
leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own
bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from
foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies.
...Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally.
Leadership means that 'the buck stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting
the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and
Grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.
Americans deserve better." SENATOR BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, MARCH 2006
miss pig; obuma "the gr8" king of amerika's true agenda: 2 destroy this country!! he's a muslim who hates america and whites in particular!!! (reference his "church" in chicago!) o-bum has racked up more debt in 4 yrs than all of the prior presidents COMBINED!!! we owe billions 2 china, whom has become the #1 world trader NOW! soon the $ will lose it's status as the world currency (i'm sure u don't know what that is!) which we have held since the end of wwII (PRIOR TO THAT IT WAS THE ENGLISH POUND!) then ur money will b nearly worthless. time 2 start buying gold, silver and platinum! i understand ur moniker: pigotry. ur a pig and a bigot!!! u liberal asses have the iq's of a house plant!!! no wonder the dumocrats have a donkey 4 a symbol, ur all asses! the republicans have an elaphant: strong and durable. & remember: an elephant never forgets!!! idiot!!! rm, bsba; mba. (what letters do u have after ur name)? 6th grade drop out!!!!
You, are the true fear mongering brainless moron!!! More Dum Fux News???
Democracy = Two wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner!
US government as seen by our founders = As above, but the sheep is armed with a gun!
whine, whine, snivel, snivel
The Party of Fear and Hate Lost in Nov.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.-Thomas Jefferson
Gun control...I don't even own a gun, but if they keep playing on the People's emotions to get them to willingly give away all viable defense weapons, who is going to protect us if the government should ever declare war on the American People?
Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases - Thomas Jefferson
Noah Webster (Founding Father) believed that having an armed public would
prevent the government from becoming corrupted because the people would have
more power than the government itself. He wrote:
"Before a standing
army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom
in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the
sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in
the United States."
NoMore, you seem to enjoy quotes, so here's a few for you to use in the future.
Sam Adams: "Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason."
Geo. Washington: "A government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangerous master."
James Madison: "All men having power ought to be mistrusted."
Sensible words by great men and true Americans!
I see the lunatic's are out in force today. So much hatred in our country! So much fear and loathing! So many fearful people taking things waayyyy out of Proportion. Republicans are living off the fear. Eating up everything FEAR! Society is evolving, and the fear mongers want to hold up this county's prosperity. Congress is full of fear mongerer's. And their sheeple buy the fear wholesale! Stop the fear! Stop the hatred! Join us in the 21st. century?
I no longer watch M.T.P.! Gregory is a fool for the tools in the GOP/TP! Unbiased journalist my ass!!! Hypocrit,yes!
Absolutely! Stop the fear mongering! We have the best politicians money can buy! They would never do the voters and citizens ill. The are working hard for us.
The crisis arrived because the illusion that wealth and
prosperity would last forever has ended. Since it was based on debt and a
pretense that debt can be papered over by an out-of-control fiat monetary
system, it was doomed to fail. We have ended up with a system that doesn’t
produce enough even to finance the debt and no fundamental understanding of why
a free society is crucial to reversing these trends.
Save everyone some reading and instead of railing against the republicans, just start out your rant with "I'm so partisan it has turned me into an idiot."
I think King Obama should just executive order everything he wants right now and he and congress can go on vacation for four years.
The second term will be just like the first. The empty chair will blow a lot of hot air but will do nothing unless he needs the votes, oh wait, he can't run for a third term, not yet. The guy loves to hear his own voice.
I didn't think they let criminals into the white house, David Gregory needs to be arrested and treated just like any other criminal,
Here's a perfect example of how the existing gun laws work, No Enforcement so lets just add more to make the system work even less,
Or did Obama Pardon Gregory
Father/Mother slogan "Have you hugged your Child today"
==================================
NRA slogan "Have you shot your Glock today"
Tea Party slogan "Whine, Bitch, Snivel and Pray"
GOP slogan "Our Party of Hate won't go away"
Thank y'all in advance
How many American made Industrial Military complex killed in the 20th century?
Over 100 million
Where is your outrage of children being bomb by an aggresive government? HOW IS IT YOU CAN JUSTIFY THE DEATH OF CHILDREN THROUGH THE USE OF WAR AND CONDEMN OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE IN A GUN FREE ZONE?
No matter your party you fund those bombs.
No Government Monopoly over Initiating Violence
Restraining aggressive behavior is one thing, but
legalizing a government monopoly for initiating aggression can only lead to
exhausting liberty associated with chaos, anger and the breakdown of civil
society. Permitting such authority and expecting saintly behavior from the
bureaucrats and the politicians is a pipe dream. We now have a standing army of
armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, FEMA, IRS, Corp of
Engineers, etc. numbering over 100,000. Citizens are guilty until proven
innocent in the unconstitutional administrative courts.
Government in a free society should have no authority to
meddle in social activities or the economic transactions of individuals. Nor
should government meddle in the affairs of other nations. All things peaceful,
even when controversial, should be permitted.
We must reject the notion of prior restraint in economic
activity just we do in the area of free speech and religious liberty. But even
in these areas government is starting to use a backdoor approach of political
correctness to regulate speech-a dangerous trend. Since 9/11 monitoring speech
on the internet is now a problem since warrants are no longer required.
The Chicago Tribune presented the murder data in today's newspaper. With tough gun laws, Chicago has had 500 murders this year. The solution was obvious. Ban Blacks! Basically 75% of the victims were Black and 80% of the suspects plus obvious were Black. So it is perfectly clear that to reduce gun violence we need to eliminate Blacks. Sarcastic? The data clearly shows something is wrong with a culture where murder is the most common cause of death! One can guess with absolute certainty that 99% of the Black murderers don't have a high school degree and probably never lived with their mother and their father. Obama should address this problem. How can he get the most under-educated racial group to join the 21st century?
His agenda is to continue to destroy our country and rebuild it as his socialist country.
Well, here we have it folks, as far as the immigration bill goes, he will make all these so called 2 year temporary illegals completely legal and once again we will pick up the tab and pay for all thier stupid needs, Please obama send all these jerks back to their own country of origin and protect our borders, we don"t need them and their crime here. We have enough of your bull Sh-- legislation to contend with, we don't need any more. Do not take away our second amendment rights, we will need them to defend this country, cause our government refuses to do anything but apease mexico and all the other countries that are allowing their citizens to come into this country illegally, and at the cost of americanr citizens lives.
junior, ya wouldn't happened to know where the Tea Party meets next?
Heres hoping your daddy-brother-uncle got u a nice new machine gun for xmas
The South will Rise again....giddy up
@eagle ..If you don't like the message,attack the messenger.
These lightweight attacks on posters mean nothing,and show you have no argument.
You need new material.
I say, let theEagle make it's sophomoric comments. It is showing it's ignorance. It can't make any intelligent comments.
The current crisis elicits a lot of pessimism. And the
pessimism adds to less confidence in the future. The two feed on themselves,
making our situation worse.