Undaunted by the very bad Democratic showing in last week's elections, President Obama has come out swinging on some important initiatives.
While in China with President Xi Jinping, they announced "an ambitious joint plan to curb carbon emissions as a way to spur nations around the world to make their own cuts in greenhouse bases," according to an article by Mark Landler in the New York Times.
The commitment includes new carbon emission reduction in the U.S. and a first-ever commitment by China to stop emissions from growing by 2030. The agreement had been worked out between the two nations over the past nine months
This is significant because we are the two top carbon polluters in the world, and action from us is essential to achieving a global agreement.
The second front we can expect some early action on is immigration, specifically an executive order that will slow the mandatory deportations. Republicans in congress are again opposed to anything Mr. Obama accomplishes and have vowed to pass their own legislation. In essence, the president is calling their bluff -- saying all along that congress should act on the bipartisan bill that has already passed the Senate. But they have done nothing so far to bring the House along. Obama's message to them is: put up or shut up.
It's good to see him being proactive and seizing the initiative. Let's hope it's not too late in the game.
Ralph
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