Outgoing President George W. Bush (left) and President-elect Barack Obama (right) meet in the Oval Office of the White House as part of the presidential transition
On November 5, the General Services Administration declared that Obama was the "apparent winner," making him eligible to receive transition funding and other government services, and granting him access to their 2008 presidential transition headquarters in Washington, D.C.[8] Podesta estimated that the transition would employ approximately 450 people and have a budget of about $12 million: $5.2 million would be paid by the federal government and the remaining $6.8 million would be funded by private sources, with each contribution limited to $5,000. The transition project would not accept money from political action committees or federal lobbyists.[9]
President Bush invited Obama and his team to attend the 2008 G-20 Washington summit held between November 15 and 20 in order to introduce him to more than twenty world leaders who attended the event. However, Obama did not come, and his transition team instead sent former Republican Rep. Jim Leach and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to meet with the heads of state.[14][15] Obama was expected to address a United Nationsglobal warming summit in Poland in December or allow a representative such as Al Gore to present his policies.[4]
On November 10, Obama traveled to the White House and met with President Bush to discuss transition issues while First LadyLaura Bush took his wife Michelle on a tour of the mansion. NBC News reported that Obama advanced his economic agenda with Bush, asking him to attempt to pass a stimulus package in a lame duck session of Congress before the inauguration. He also urged Bush to accelerate the disbursement of $25 billion in funds to bail out the automobile industry and expressed concern about additional Americans losing their homes as mortgage rates increase again.[16][17]
The Bush administration reportedly went out of its way to make the transition as seamless as possible for the incoming administration, earning accolades from Obama staff members and outside experts alike. According to nearly all accounts, the Bush administration streamlined the process for new officials to obtain security clearances and planned training exercises for the incoming national security team, to ensure that they would be ready to face a possible crisis on the first day in office. Part of this enhanced cooperation is required by laws passed at the behest of the 9/11 Commission, while part is attributed to the difficulty that the Bush administration had with its own transition, which lasted only five weeks and was felt to have had a deleterious effect on Bush's ability to govern. "I'm not sure I've ever seen an outgoing administration work as hard at saying the right thing," said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution. "This is really quite memorable."[18]
During the transition, the Bush administration had many important matters to address, even as a lame duck president. There was an ongoing financial crisis,[19] and this was the first presidential transition since the presidential transition of Richard Nixon to occur while the United States was at war.[20]
Resignation from Senate offices
At the time of their election, President-elect Obama and Vice President-electJoseph Biden were incumbent U.S. senators from Illinois and Delaware respectively. In accordance with Article I, Section 6 of the United States Constitution, both were required to resign their respective Senate seats on or before January 20, 2009, in order to become president and vice president.
Obama resigned from the Senate effective November 16, 2008.[21][22] Initially, it was thought that his replacement would be named by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Since the term for the seat expired in January 2011, it would come up for its normal election in 2010 with no special election necessary. Blagojevich was expected to name Obama's immediate successor in the Senate by January 3, 2009.[23] However, on December 9, 2008, the status of Obama's succession in the Senate was cast in doubt after Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges, which included allegedly attempting to sell the appointment.[24] Although placed in federal custody and released on $4,500 bail,[25] as long as he remained governor Blagojevich continued to have sole authority to make the appointment.[26] Several Democrats, including Sen. Dick Durbin, asked the Illinois General Assembly to schedule a special election instead.[27]
Speaking through a surrogate, Obama called for Blagojevich's resignation on December 10.[28] Had Blagojevich resigned or been removed from office before making the appointment, the duty would have fallen to Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who would succeed Blagojevich as governor. However, Illinois Senate president Emil Jones said that he would call the Senate back into session to write a law that would result in Obama's replacement being determined in a special election.[29]
However, after the state legislature did not pass a law mandating a special election for the seat, on December 30, Blagojevich announced that he was appointing Roland Burris, a former Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Comptroller, and U.S. Treasury Department official, to the seat, citing his constitutional duty in the absence of a law requiring a special election.[30] Blagojevich, Burris, and Representative Bobby Rush urged the public to consider the qualifications of Burris as a public servant and not the scandals in which Blagojevich was embroiled.[31]
However, the Senate Democrats released a statement in which they reaffirmed that they would refuse to seat anyone appointed to the seat by Blagojevich, as that individual would be an ineffective representative of Illinois because of "questions of impropriety."[32]
Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Rush, expressed their support for seating Burris, who would be the only African-American in the Senate; Rush compared a Senate rejection of Burris to a lynching.[33] However, President-elect Obama released a statement condemning the appointment and again calling on Blagojevich to resign.[34] In addition, the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, reiterated that he would not certify any appointment made by Blagojevich, although at the time it was not clear whether this could prevent Burris from taking office.[35] Furthermore, the Senate might not actually have been able to refuse to seat Burris, as he met all constitutional requirements for the office and was not involved in the Blagojevich corruption scandal (per the U.S. Supreme Court decision Powell v. McCormack).[36]
On January 9, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in the case Burris v. White that the appointment only required the signature of the governor to be valid, and not that of the Illinois Secretary of State, and that the state of Illinois is not required to use the Senate's recommended certification form, as it is only "recommended" under the Standing Rules of the United States Senate.[37][38] The Court further remarked that "no explanation has been given as to how any rule of the Senate, whether it be formal or merely a matter of tradition, could supersede the authority to fill vacancies conferred on the states by the federal constitution".[39] Following the ruling, White provided Burris with a certified copy of the appointment's registration, and Burris delivered that copy, that bears the State Seal, to the Secretary of the Senate.[40] His credentials declared valid, Burris was finally sworn in on January 15, 2009, by outgoing President of the Senate Dick Cheney.[41][42][43]
Biden Senate transition
Biden had indicated that he would remain in the Senate until he was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2009.[44] Although he was sworn in for a seventh Senate term in early January 2009, he resigned from the seat on January 15, 2009, having served just over 36 years in the body.[45] He was Delaware's longest-serving senator.
On November 24, 2008, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner announced that Ted Kaufman would serve as Biden's appointed replacement.[46] Kaufman was sworn in on January 16, 2009.[47] A special election was held in November 2010, which elected Democratic candidate Chris Coons.
During his abbreviated final term in the Senate, Biden went on a diplomatic fact-finding trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, becoming the first vice-president-elect to undertake such a mission before entering office.[48]
Change.gov website
On November 5, 2008, the transition team launched change.gov, the official website of the transition.[49]
The website included a blog and jobs page.[50] It also had a section that allowed visitors to share stories or their visions for the country.[51] Visitors were able to comment on issues important to them using the Citizen's Briefing Book. Individuals applying for work within the Obama administration via this site were required to go through intensive consumer and criminal background checks performed by the ChoicePoint Corporation.[52] The website used a Creative Commons license.[53]
As part of their efforts towards transparency, on December 5 the transition team announced that "all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be publicly available for review and discussion on Change.gov." After the inauguration, many of the functions of change.gov were transferred to a redesigned White House website.[54]
Thirty-one of the appointments to the transition team had previously worked in the Clinton administration, including Podesta, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain.[55]
Announcements
Obama held near-daily press conferences as president-elect to announce his administration nominees to the public.[56] He introduced the nominees and occasionally took questions from the press regarding issues such as economic difficulties and the war in Afghanistan.[57]
The appointment of Eric Holder for attorney general raised concerns, due to his role in the last-minute pardon issued by Bill Clinton for fugitive financier Marc Rich.[62]
During his first press conference as president-elect, on November 7, Obama remarked about former first lady Nancy Reagan holding seances in the White House, which gained widespread attention.[63][64][65][66] Termed his "first gaffe,"[67] Obama called Mrs. Reagan later that evening to apologize for what his spokesperson said was a "careless and off-handed remark."[68]
There was one withdrawal, New MexicoGovernorBill Richardson, whom Obama had named Secretary of Commerce. Richardson's administration was, at the time, the subject of a federal corruption probe; while maintaining that his administration was responsible for no wrongdoing, he withdrew so as to prevent a lengthy confirmation process from hindering the work of the U.S. Department of Commerce.[78] The position was filled by Gary Locke.
Initial reaction to Obama's choice of Leon Panetta as CIA director was mixed, with some intelligence professionals expressing concern that Panetta lacked specific intelligence experience,[83] and others such as former Congressman and co-chair of the Iraq Study GroupLee H. Hamilton praising the choice.[84]
According to Podesta, the transition team planned to conduct an exhaustive review of Bush's executive orders in an effort to find quick changes that could be implemented on the first day in office. Podesta also says that there is a great deal that can be accomplished without waiting for Congress to act and that Obama wanted to move quickly once in office to restore "a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good."[112]
The economic agenda under development initially focused on short-term measures intended to hold off widespread economic losses so that a longer-term economic agenda could then be formulated. That approach subsequently shifted to a longer-term stimulus plan, with a goal of creating 2.5 million jobs over a two-year period. With a cost of $700 to $800billion, the stimulus plan would cost more than a quarter million dollars per job created (divide 750 billion by 2,500,000 yielding $300,000).[113] In a nationally televised interview on December 7, he acknowledged that his agenda has changed over the past month, and that a short-term stimulus package had again become his first priority. He wanted to emphasize "shovel ready" infrastructure projects to create new jobs quickly.[114] Barack Obama said he hoped to sign the stimulus package into law soon after taking office on January 20.
Obama's most immediate concern was an economic stimulus proposal that some Congressional Democrats had advocated. Like previous stimulus packages, that proposal was demand-side (Keynesian) in nature. It would likely consist of increased funding for unemployment benefits, the Food Stamp Program, and infrastructure projects, rather than tax rebates.[115] In fact, Obama claimed to be planning "the largest infrastructure program in roads and bridges and other traditional infrastructure since the building of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s."[116] However, he also emphasized his plans to "green" the federal government by updating heating and lighting systems in federal buildings, as well as significant investment in technology initiatives such as mandatory electronic medical records, improved computers in schools, and universal availability of broadband Internet access.[117]
Additional funding for Medicaid was also being considered. A similar stimulus bill was passed by the House of Representatives on September 26, 2008, but never approved by the Senate.[115] Obama promised to promote a stimulus bill early in his presidency if one was not passed before his inauguration on January 20, 2009.[115] In addition, Obama considered the request of the U.S. automotive industry for a cash infusion of $50 billion in addition to the $25 billion that had already been approved, but emphasizing that his support is "conditioned on them making significant adjustments."[114]
Obama also planned to push for a program to spend $150 billion over 10 years to develop new renewable energy sources. This money would also be used to encourage energy conservation and help the auto industry develop fuel-efficient vehicles. However, Mother Jones reported that the Windfall Profits Tax on oil companies, which he frequently cited during the campaign, had been dropped from the agenda early in the transition.[110][118]
According to the transition's website, Obama also hoped to rekindle volunteerism by expanding AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps and also creating a new Classroom Corps. Other volunteer efforts reportedly include a Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Middle and high school students would be asked to do 50 hours of community service work a year. College students would be eligible for $4,000 in tuitiontax credits in exchange for community service work. Improved volunteerism programs aimed at senior citizens were projected, as well as augmented Youth Build and Head Start programs.[119]
Agenda on healthcare
On December 5, Tom Daschle, who was designated to lead Obama's efforts for health care reform, announced a month-long campaign to solicit public input on the shape of that reform. People were encouraged to hold community meetings to discuss the issue, and to post their thoughts on www.change.gov, where over 10,000 comments had already been posted. Although Democratic leaders had met in private for several months to prepare a legislative package for unveiling in January, Daschle was anxious to avoid the appearance that the transition was working behind closed doors to create a sweeping agenda for change.
This technique, developed by grass roots organizations like MoveOn.org, was designed to reinforce the notion that Obama intended to aggressively pursue his health care reform agenda despite the worsening economy. "President-elect Obama has made health reform one of his top priorities, and I'm here to tell you that his commitment to changing the healthcare system remains strong and focused", said Daschle.[120]
During a news conference on December 11, 2008, Obama linked health care reform to the upcoming economic stimulus package, noting that "It's not something that we can sort of put off because we're in an emergency." "This is part of the emergency." He expected the stimulus legislation to include a $40 billion increase in Medicaid spending over two years, plus a massive investment in health information management technology. Consideration was also being given to funding for retraining medical workers, expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and expansion of the COBRA provisions, which allow unemployed workers to purchase health insurance through their previous employer's plan.[121]
One of the principal foreign policy issues that Obama ran on during the presidential campaign concerned his promise to withdraw most American troops from the Iraq War within sixteen months of his inauguration.[122] Another issue concerned the three areas of foreign policy that President Bush had been focusing on during the final months of his term: Iran's nuclear development, North Korea's nuclear arsenal, and the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. In all three cases, a diplomatic structure had already been established, although some of the Bush administration's goals might differ from those Obama would adopt as president.[122]
The Annapolis Conference gathers in November 2007.
In the Middle East, Bush began a new approach to the peace process, the so-called Annapolis process, which attempts to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to agree on the outlines of a peace accord. Although both sides cite some success in these discussions, critics believe the talks have unduly ignored Hamas, which has been labeled as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that it holds an enormous amount of political power in the region.[122] Obama had not specified what his approach would be, although it was considered likely that he would appoint a high-level Middle East envoy, in part to free his Secretary of State so that other matters can also be addressed.[122] Hamas expressed a willingness to talk to Obama, who has said that he will reciprocate only if it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel's right to exist, and agrees to abide by past agreements.[123] The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has said the Hamas government would accept a Palestinian state that followed the Green Line and would offer Israel a long-term truce if Israel recognises the Palestinians' national rights.[124]
During his second term, Bush pursued an agreement with North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programs. To prevent a collapse in the process, Bush agreed to remove North Korea from the State Department's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, which Obama supported.[122] Obama has criticized Bush for taking so long to engage with North Korea, and has indicated that he would be eager to engage in a more proactive diplomatic effort to reach an agreement. A senior North Korean official recently[when?] told reporters that "we are ready to deal" with the incoming Obama administration.[122]
Obama also deliberated on how to deal with Iran. Outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had assembled a coalition of six states—the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the United States—to confront Iran.[122] While the group won approval from the United Nations, Iran largely ignored its demands. While Obama had previously advocated carefully planned direct talks with Iran, he was now being seen as likely to build on the current coalition to broker an agreement with Iran.[122]
In addition, Obama formulated a policy to deal with the U.S. missile defense shield that was under construction in Poland. He discussed the matter with both Polish PresidentLech Kaczyński and Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev. While his advisors were working on a missile shield policy, his position at that time was simply that one might be deployed if and when it has been "proved to be workable".[125]
Obama also planned to revoke a series of executive orders enacted by Bush that would have the effect of overturning a practice that many critics have labeled as torture against "detainees."[110]
This would include requiring the CIA to abide by the Army Field Manual when interrogating prisoners. Resistance was expected, however, from some in the Intelligence Community, regarding the practicality of a complete revocation of these orders. He was also hoping to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, although issues were expected to arise in such a plan because many of the detainees have been held without evidence or have been coerced in their confessions, which would not be admissible in a federal court.[110]
A November 20, 2008, Los Angeles Times article stated, "Antiwar groups and other liberal activists are increasingly concerned at signs that Barack Obama's national security team will be dominated by appointees who favored the Iraq invasion... 'It's astonishing that not one of the 23 senators or 133 House members who voted against the war is in the mix,' said Sam Husseini of the liberal group Institute for Public Accuracy."[126]
National defense
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was retained in the Obama Administration, outlined an agenda for reform of the Department of Defense. His ideas centered on a perceived need to shift purchasing priorities away from costly high tech weapons, and toward lower cost alternatives that are more appropriate for the wars the U.S. was currently fighting, as well as those he believed might lie in the immediate future. He noted that there are limits to U.S. military power, and believed that the emphasis should be shifted away from fighting, and toward training, advising and equipping allied forces to fight.[127]
Specific areas Gates and Obama agreed on were said to include:
Improved coordination and cooperation between the military and the State Department, as well as other civilian agencies.
Improving the "security capacity" of US allies to allow them to increase their participation in the War on Terrorism.
Obama made energy policy one of his topmost priorities in his 2008 campaign.[129] Towards his energy goals of United States energy independence through investment in alternative energy production he has set the following objectives:
Within ten years save more oil than current imports from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
By 2015 put one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road.
By 2012, 10% of U.S. electricity shall come from renewable sources and 25% by 2025.
By 2050, 80% of currently emitted greenhouse gases shall be eliminated.
To achieve these objectives, Obama proposed the following measures[130]
Over 10 years invest $150 billion for energy development with a lower CO2 emissions including:
Accelerate commercialization of plug-in hybrid technology.
Create 5 million green collar jobs involved in projects such as in construction, retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient or to generate their own power.
Appointees recruited by Obama with experience on energy policy included Peter Orszag, an expert on cap and trade programs, who was named as director of the Office of Management and Budget. John Podesta, transition chief, was an early advocate of Detroit's refocus on using lower carbon alternatives to gasoline.[132]
The Secret Service, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was the lead agency for both security and logistics for the Inaugural Ceremony. Their plan was to open the event to as many spectators as possible. Security was expected to be strict, and vast portions of downtown Washington would be closed to all traffic. Initially, it was thought that up to 4 million people would descend upon the area of the National Mall, but later reports from the Secret Service suggested that the number might not be that high. Arrangements for 8000 police officers were made, however, and parking for up to 10,000 tour buses was arranged. A Metro spokesperson warned that the subway system "will be utterly overwhelmed." Camping was not permitted on the mall.[133][134]
On November 13, 2008, the Secret Service announced that Obama's codename would be "Renegade". In addition, his wife's is "Renaissance" and his daughters' are "Rosebud" and "Radiance".[135]
Residential transition
In keeping with tradition, President Bush left a letter (shown here on the Resolute desk) to Obama in the Oval Office.
The first family visited both Sidwell Friends School and Georgetown Day School before deciding on Sidwell.[136][137] The residential transition began with the first of two interim stops at the Hay-Adams Hotel on January 4.[138] The second interim stop was a move to Blair House on January 15, the traditional interim move date for residents-elect.[139] The residential transition began earlier than for most incoming presidents because the daughters began school at Sidwell on January 5.[139][140] During the campaign, Michelle Obama had stated that the residential transition would be planned to be as unified as possible for all members of the family.[141] Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson, made plans to move into the White House to assist with child care.[142] In the current real estate market, the Obamas did not intend to sell their South Side Chicago home that sits on the border between the Hyde Park and Kenwoodcommunity areas.[143]
The outgoing Bush family did not take much with them as they left the White House. Among the items they left behind was their official state china service, a Lenox gilt-edged style with a green basket weave border, estimated to be worth $492,798. However, what they did not take with them can be included in the collection of the presidential library.[146]
Vice President Dick Cheney was injured moving out of his residence just before the inauguration and used a wheelchair during the ceremony.[147]
Assessment of the transition
Experts have given the transition high praise. Numerous experts have referred to the transition between Bush and Obama as the "gold standard" for presidential transitions.[148][149][150][151][152] Both the Bush and Obama ends of the transition have been praised.[20]
The transition has been praised as "seamless", in part, for its adherence to Obama's insistence that there be "one president at a time", with Obama largely avoiding giving comment during the transition on matters Bush was handling, such as the ongoing financial crisis.[20][19]
↑ "Transcript of first presidential debate". CNN. October 14, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008. But there's no doubt that we're not going to be able to do everything that I think needs to be done. There are some things that I think have to be done. We have to have energy independence, so I've put forward a plan to make sure that, in 10 years' time, we have freed ourselves from dependence on Middle Eastern oil by increasing production at home, but most importantly by starting to invest in alternative energy, solar, wind, biodiesel, making sure that we're developing the fuel-efficient cars of the future right here in the United States, in Ohio and Michigan, instead of Japan and South Korea. Note that Obama listed energy goals before all others as a policy area that would not be scaled back in response to Lehrer's question.
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the final ten years of his tenure, during which time he served as Senate Minority Leader and Majority Leader.
Michael Okerlund Leavitt is an American Republican Party politician who served as the 14th governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003, and in the George W. Bush administration as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2005 to 2009.
Judd Alan Gregg is an American politician and attorney who served as the 76th governor of New Hampshire from 1989 to 1993 and was a United States senator from New Hampshire; in the Senate, Gregg served as chair of the Senate Health Committee and the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics. He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. Gregg was nominated for Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinet by President Barack Obama, but withdrew his name on February 12, 2009. He chose not to run for reelection to the Senate in 2010, and former State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, also a Republican, was elected to succeed him. On May 27, 2011, Goldman Sachs announced that Gregg had been named an international advisor to the firm. In May 2013, Gregg was named the CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a Wall Street lobbying group. He later stepped down as CEO in December 2013 and became a senior adviser.
Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 2nd congressional district from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and, prior to his career in elected office, worked for his father in both the elder Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign and his social justice, civil rights and political activism organization, Operation PUSH. Jackson's wife, Sandi Jackson, served on the Chicago City Council. He served as a national co-chairman of the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign. Jackson established a consistent liberal record on both social and fiscal issues, and he has co-authored books on civil rights and personal finance.
Rod Blagojevich, often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. He was impeached, removed from office, convicted, and incarcerated for eight years on federal charges of public corruption. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked in both the state and federal legislatures. He served as an Illinois state representative from 1993 to 1997, and the U.S. representative from Illinois's 5th district from 1997 to 2003.
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and as a civil rights lawyer and university lecturer.
Roland Wallace Burris is an American retired Democratic politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. In January 2009, he was appointed a United States Senator, succeeding Barack Obama, who resigned to become president of the United States. Burris held this position until November 2010, retiring from front-line politics shortly after.
Barack Obama, President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, he made his presidential run in 2008. He was elected President in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.
Robert Lane Gibbs is an American communication professional who served as executive vice president and global chief communications officer of McDonald's from 2015 to 2019 and as the 27th White House Press Secretary from 2009 to 2011.
Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, on August 23, leading up to the convention, the campaign announced that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware would be the vice presidential nominee. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 27, Barack Obama was formally selected as the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 2008. He was the first African American in history to be nominated on a major party ticket.
The 2010 United States Senate elections in Illinois took place on November 2, 2010. There were two ballot items for the same seat: a general election, to fill the Class 3 seat beginning with the 112th United States Congress beginning on January 3, 2011, and a special election, to fill that seat for the final weeks of the 111th Congress. Democrat Roland Burris, who was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Barack Obama's election to the presidency, did not seek a full term.
In the United States, a presidential transition is the process during which the president-elect of the United States prepares to take over the administration of the federal government of the United States from the incumbent president. Though planning for transition by a non-incumbent candidate can start at any time before a presidential election and in the days following, the transition formally starts when the General Services Administration (GSA) declares an “apparent winner” of the election, thereby releasing the funds appropriated by Congress for the transition, and continues until inauguration day, when the president-elect takes the oath of office, at which point the powers, immunities, and responsibilities of the presidency are legally transferred to the new president.
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Four years later, in the 2012 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney to win re-election. Obama is the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president born in Hawaii.
Christopher P. Lu is a Chinese American political advisor who serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform. He is also an alternative representative to the United Nations General Assembly during his tenure as Representative for Management and Reform. In the administration of United States President Barack Obama, Lu served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Labor from 2014 to 2017, the White House Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President from 2009 to 2013, and the co-chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Lu graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and from Harvard Law School, where he was a classmate of Obama's.
In December 2008, then-Democratic Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were charged with corruption by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. As a result, Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and removed from office by the Illinois Senate in January 2009. The federal investigation continued after his removal from office, and he was indicted on corruption charges in April of that year. The jury found Blagojevich guilty of one charge of making false statements with a mistrial being declared on the other 23 counts due to a hung jury after 14 days of jury deliberation. On June 27, 2011, after a retrial, Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 charges, not guilty on one charge and the jury deadlocked after 10 days of deliberation on the two remaining charges. On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency began on January 20, 2009, the day Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in office, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president. The 100th day of his presidency ended at noon on April 30, 2009. Obama stated that he should not be judged just by his first hundred days: "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it’s probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference." Obama began to formally create his presidential footprint during his first 100 days. Obama quickly began attempting to foster support for his economic stimulus package, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill passed in the House on January 28, 2009, by a 244–188 vote, and it passed in the Senate on February 10 by a 61–37 margin.
Barack Obama assumed office as President of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
The Almanac of American Politics (2008) rated Barack Obama's overall social policies in 2006 as more conservative than 21% of the Senate, and more liberal than 77% of the Senate.
The presidential transition of George W. Bush took place following the 2000 United States presidential election. It started after Bush was declared the victor of the election on December 12, 2000, when the Bush v. Gore decision by the Supreme Court halted the election recount in Florida, making Bush the victor in that state. The decision delivered him the state's 25 electoral votes, thus giving him a total of 271 electoral votes. This was one more vote than the 270 needed to win the presidency outright, making him president-elect.
The presidential transition of George H. W. Bush began when then-Vice President Bush won the United States 1988 United States presidential election, becoming the president-elect, and ended when Bush was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 1989.
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