Barack Obama News
Read news, analysis, and commentary on Barack Obama, his administration’s legacy, and his continuing impact on national debates.
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- Opinion
Obama’s Contribution to Our Identity Politics Climate
While in Greece this week, President Barack Obama called the anxieties about national, cultural, and ethnic identities that impacted this election a “volatile mix.” He attributed this angst, though, to impersonal forces such as globalization, deindustrialization, and social media. It wasn’t him. For eight years, the president said, he’s been working hard against approaches “that…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
Obama’s 7 Biggest Foreign Policy Mistakes
How will history judge the national security and foreign policy of President Barack Obama? From the Iran deal to the Russian reset, the world is not a better or safer place after Obama’s eight-year tenure.Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
Obama May Veto the Defense Bill, Again
This week the White House signaled that it might veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if a religious freedom amendment remains in the final package. While this may just be political posturing, it fits a clear pattern of President Barack Obama’s willingness to use national security, and the defense bills in particular, as hostages…Justin Johnson -
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Federal Judge Asks Why Obama Administration Isn’t Admitting Christian Syrian Refugees
In an otherwise unremarkable opinion over the federal Freedom of Information Act, a federal appellate court judge has issued a sharp rejoinder to the Obama administration over an issue that has been discussed in the news—the almost complete lack of Syrian Christian refugees being brought over to the U.S. The Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Obama Threatens to Veto Military Bill Because It Protects Religious Groups
On D-Day, Franklin Roosevelt famously asked a country of many faiths to pray that God protect our troops as they “struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization” against tyranny. Given our military’s tradition of defending religious liberty from attack, it is disappointing to see President Barack Obama threaten to veto the military’s…Roger Severino -
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6 of Obama’s Biggest Blunders
From skyrocketing spending and record new regulations to the multiple failures surrounding Obamacare and the push for Common Core, here’s a look at some of President Barack Obama’s biggest domestic policy blunders over the past eight years.Genevieve Wood -
- News
Crashes Will Be Hard to Stop After Obama’s Internet Giveaway
Someone successfully shut down many websites Friday, attacking a crucial part of the internet that has been made more vulnerable due to an Obama administration decision to surrender American control, according to experts. Websites like Twitter, Spotify, Reddit and many others were not working for a large portion of U.S. citizens Friday, after unknown hackers breached the servers of…Eric Lieberman -
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UNESCO, Which Obama Wants US to Fund, Calls Israel ‘Occupying Power’ and Rewrites Jewish History
Even though it remains a member of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United States has not provided any funding to the organization since 2011 when the Palestinian Authority was granted full membership in the organization. That decision ran afoul of two U.S. laws, passed in the early 1990s, that prohibit U.S….Brett Schaefer -
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Obama Is Restarting the Mars Program He Canceled 8 Years Ago
President Barack Obama will restart NASA’s mission to Mars after he effectively canceled the program eight years ago, according to an op-ed he wrote. Obama’s op-ed calls for NASA to send humans to Mars by 2030, but Obama has a long history of slashing programs that would have sent America to Mars much sooner. “We have…Andrew Follett -
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Obama Administration Wants to Use Taxpayer Money to Settle Health Insurer Lawsuits. Here’s How a Republican Would Stop It.
Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah has mounted a campaign urging House Speaker Paul Ryan to initiate a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the potential use of a fund the Treasury Department oversees to pay federal legal claims to settle with insurance companies suing the government. Stewart is circulating a letter to his Republican…Melissa Quinn -
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Meet the Senator Opposing Obama’s Mandate for Transgender Bathrooms in Schools
Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, is known for his conservative values. So when he decided to take on the Obama administration over its mandate to schools on transgender bathrooms, it came as no surprise to those familiar with the reserved, red-headed senator. But instead of attacking the Obama administration on the policy itself,…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Obama Fair Housing Rules Open Door to Unintended Consequences
The Obama administration is pulling on both ends of the rope in the tug-of-war over housing regulation. Heritage Foundation calculations found that the typical American household spends an extra $1,700 a year due to land use regulation. Households on both coasts pay much more. Joining Heritage on one end of the tug-of-war, the administration released…Salim Furth -
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Obama, With Co-Star DiCaprio, Says Climate Change Skeptics Should ‘Pay Penalty’
President Barack Obama, joined by actor Leonardo DiCaprio at the White House, warned Monday night that the world is running out of time to counter climate change and the U.S. government must make laggards “pay a penalty.” “It takes time to ramp up these new energy sources, and we are in a battle against time,”…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
When Bureaucrats Edit the Facts of Islamist Terrorism to Fit Obama’s Narrative
In the early morning hours of June 12, an armed terrorist named Omar Mateen opened fire in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The next morning, Americans awoke to the news that 49 people had been murdered—the largest such massacre in American history. This heinous act left Americans, as well as the Orlando community, grieving and searching…Alfred J. Lechner Jr. -
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What Top Senators Want to Know About Obama’s Push to OK New Citizens to Vote
The branch manager for the Houston office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seemed clear about the reason and timing for asking staff to work overtime to push through more citizenship applications. “The field office due to the election year needs to process as many of their N-400 cases as possible between now and FY…Fred Lucas -
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Obama Administration Promotes Student Aid as College Costs Remain High
President Barack Obama greatly increased financial assistance for college students since 2008, but the cost of higher education and student debt still climbs and graduation rates have remained flat. In the 2007-2008 academic year, the average combined tuition and fees for public four-year colleges and universities were $15,530, according to the College Board, a higher…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Obama’s New Death Tax Threatens Family Farms and Businesses
We all knew President Barack Obama’s lame-duck presidency would be bad, but for the millions of Americans who work at family farms and businesses, it’s about to get a lot worse. As Heritage Foundation tax expert Curtis Dubay wrote at The Daily Signal, Obama is trying to sneak in a tax hike in his twilight…Rep. Warren Davidson -
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Obama Could Be First Modern President to Serve 2 Terms and Have Only 1 Veto Overridden
President Barack Obama could likely face his first veto override of his presidency this week—which will probably also be the last given his pending exit in January 2017. The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, generally referred to as the 9/11 bill, will return to the Senate Wednesday and to the House as early as…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Utahns Fear Obama Will Heed Environmentalists, Not Them, on National Monument Designation
This past Monday marked the 20th anniversary of President Bill Clinton using the Antiquities Act to create the 1.5 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. For most Utahns, this date is not a cause for celebration. It’s a source of anger toward what many see as an out-of-touch and overbearing federal government Infamously,…Sen. Mike Lee -
- Opinion
What Obama’s Education Secretary Got Wrong About Homeschoolers
Homeschooling has been growing in popularity in recent years, and now accounts for about 3.4 percent of the school-age population. That’s more than double the percentage (1.7 percent) of homeschooling families in 1999. That’s great news for families who have chosen to give a customized, tailor-made education to their children, and for the millions of…Lindsey Burke