What's on President Obama's agenda?

Once all of the inaugural celebrations are over, President Obama will have a lot of hard work ahead of him. Few presidents have taken office with as many serious problems to deal with as Obama has. What do you think the biggest of these problems is? Here you see just a few of the big items on President Obama's agenda. Right now, the most urgent item on the agenda is the economy. What do you know about the state of the U.S. economy right now? Most economic experts say the economy is in a recession. Unemployment has risen, and many people are worried that they might lose their jobs. Many businesses are failing or are at risk of failing. Obama says he wants the U.S. government to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to help stimulate the economy. Part of that money could be for tax cuts, and part of it could be on different programs to help people economically. But the new president will have to get his plan passed in Congress first. Do you think it will be difficult to get Congress to agree on an economic plan?

President Obama also takes control of the U.S. military while it is involved in two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has said he wants to take more troops out of Iraq, and put more troops into Afghanistan. During the campaign, Obama promised to spend a lot of money on "infrastructure," which means things like roads and bridges that are used by many people and are in need of repair. What do you think should be at the top of President Obama's agenda?

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