On January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama was sworn into office, initiating a "change we can believe in." Obama has many jobs as the President of the United States: implementing and enforcing laws, signing or vetoing bills and commanding the armed forces. As Commander-in-Chief, Obama has one of the most distressing jobs of all- writing and signing letters to the families of troops that have fallen. Obama has been in office for about 1 month, and has already brought change.

The President signed his first bill soon after taking office; this bill was known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The bill approved equal pay for everyone. Lilly Ledbetter, a woman from Alabama, worked as a supervisor for a tire company. At the end of her 19 year career, she discovered and complained to the management that she had been making less than the men who worked there. "Making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone," said Obama while signing the bill.

Over 2 million jobs have been lost, which is the highest number since World War II. On January 8, Mr. Obama gave a speech addressing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan during which he said, "It will take time, perhaps many years, but we can rebuild that lost trust and confidence. We can restore opportunity and prosperity." The stimulus plan that was signed on February 17, will produce an estimated 3 to 4 million jobs. The bill includes $120 billion for infrastructure and science spending; education ($105.9 billion), health coverage to those who lost their jobs ($21 billion) and food assistance for the poor ($19.9 billion). Overall, the bill will cost $787 billion, 3 quarters of Obama’s goal. That same day, the President announced his plan to impede home foreclosures.

One of the most controversial executive orders, the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and all CIA overseas interrogation/detention centers, was signed the morning of January 22. Along with the centers, interrogation techniques such as waterboarding have now been banned. The question still remains about where to try those who have been charged (245 terror suspects), and where the prisoners who were freed should be sent. The goal is to close Guantanamo Bay in less than 1 year.

6 million Americans are still receiving analog television signals. Obama has signed legislation that pushed back the date of the conversion to digital signal. On June 12, the mandatory conversion will take place. This act shows that Obama and his administration are aware and noting the needs of the American public.

Barack Obama has one of the hardest tasks of being president: penning letters to families who have lost loved ones at war. The President puts a personal touch to the letters by gathering as much information about the service member as possible. The letters are then handwritten by him, and typed by a White House staff member. The typed letters are then signed by Obama. Most family members can agree that having a personalized letter shows that the Commander-in-Chief truly appreciates what has been done by the service member.
As President, Barack Obama has affected the lives of numerous Americans. The future will contain many obstacles, and the public looks forward to seeing how the administration will deal with these problems.