page_title: Barack Obama
section_title: Presidency
hierarchical_section_title: Barack Obama / Presidency
caption_attribution_description: English: United States President Barack Obama speaks at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Soccer Stadium, Soweto, South Africa on 10 December 2013. Thamsanqa Jantjie stands to the right.
context_page_description: Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician. He was the 44th President of the United States and the first African-American to hold the office. He is a Democrat. Obama won the 2008 United States presidential election, on November 4, 2008. He was inaugurated on January 20, 2009.
  As president, he slowly ended US participation in the Iraq War, having prepared the country to defend itself. He also signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which changed many health care laws. He also enacted many acts to create public works jobs to help the economy. He became the first president to openly express support for gay marriage, proposed gun control as a result of the Sandy Hook school shooting and opened diplomatic relations with Cuba.
context_section_description: Obama became President of the United States on January 20, 2009. The United States was battling a tough recession. He asked Congress to spend an extra $787 billion ($787,000,000,000) to try to end the recession. He called the plan the stimulus bill. The stimulus bill funded many road projects, gave money to schools, gave tax credits to many Americans, and funded many science and research projects.
  He continued the financial bailout that George W. Bush started, giving billions of dollars to car companies and banks so that they would not go bankrupt. He signed an act written by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd which would regulate Wall Street (the financial industry) to try to prevent another recession like this from happening again. Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which would bring health care reform to the United States, which he said would change the system so that more people can afford health care.
  In foreign policy, Obama made a plan to slowly withdraw troops from Iraq, ending the War in Iraq by the end of 2011, while adding more troops to Afghanistan to help the United States win the War in Afghanistan. He also decided that the USA should help in the war against Libya. He has said several times that he wants to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world.
  Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009.  He noted that his efforts were humble, but he donated the prize money to several charities.
  Though his popularity was very high (around 70% approval) when he entered office, his approval ratings fell to 45% percent during the year of 2010. He received much criticism from Republicans, conservatives, libertarians, and members of the Tea Party because they believe that the federal government is becoming too big and spending too much money and that his programs are not the best for the country.
  With rising economic deficits (the amount of money the government borrows each month) under his administration, he called for taxes to be increased on the rich.  He criticized his Republican opponents for wanting to cut welfare benefits for the poor rather than raising taxes to help pay down the debt.  He also signed the Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 in 2010, allowing openly gay men and openly lesbian women in the armed forces.
  Obama reduced US participation in the Iraq War and continued the war on terror which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.  Obama started a no-fly-zone policy on the Libyan civil war that ended in October 2011 with the killing of Muammar al-Gaddafi.  On May 9, 2012, he became the first sitting US President to openly support legalizing same-sex marriage.
  On December 14, 2012, after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut occurred, Obama had said, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics". On December 21, 2012, Obama and his White House staff observed a moment of silence because of the school shooting in Connecticut.
  On December 21, 2012, Obama nominated John Kerry for United States Secretary of State during his second term. Kerry was sworn in on February 1, 2013.
  Before his second term began and still continues, there has been debating of guns because of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that happened on December 14, 2012, as well as shootings in the past.
  He took his second term inauguration oath in the White House, privately (only his family members could see) on January 20, 2013. Obama was inaugurated for a second term on January 21, 2013 (January 20, 2013 fell on a Sunday) in the United States Capitol, that inauguration was viewed to the public.
  He visited South Africa on late June 2013. Prior to visiting South Africa, he visited Senegal. He visited Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned. He did not meet with Nelson Mandela.
  The United States government shutdown occurred on October 1, 2013. On October 17, 2013, Obama signed a bill which ended the United States government shut down.
  Obama awarded several people, including former U.S. Preside
caption: Obama speaks at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela on December 10, 2013 in Soccer Stadium, Soweto, South Africa
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