It's been almost a year since this country's first African-American commander-in-chief took office, and what a tumultuous year it's been for President Obama. From the potential collapse of our economy to handling two wars and the battle for healthcare reform, President Obama came out of the gate at full speed and hasn't looked back.

Despite a few missteps, he's had some very good moments. Here's a look at President Obama's best moments from his first 365 days in office. Given what's coming in the next year, President Obama may want to print this list out and tack up somewhere in the oval office for inspiration when the going gets rough. I'm sure it will.



10. A Wise Latina

It's so hypocritical for a country that thinks of itself as providing opportunities for all to have such a non diverse group of people sitting on its highest court. Hispanics and Latinos make up more than 15 percent of the people in this country. That's why Sonia Sotamayor, President Obama's choice to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, was one of his best decisions. She's the first Latina in the role.

Not only is Sotamayor supremely qualified, she comes from a background that provides a rich pool of life experience to draw from as she helps to decide on the most important issues of the day. She will have a unique perspective on issues facing immigrants and women. Even when Republicans and conservatives tried to use her "wise latina" comments against her, President Obama, understanding the importance of diversity, stuck with her. And, like Thurgood Marshall did for African-Americans, Sotomayor will provide inspiration for generations of Latinos.



9. Shut it Down. Shut, Shut Down.

President Obama loses a few cool points on this one because he overestimated how quickly he would be able to accomplish it, but signing executive orders to close down Guantanamo Bay within hours of his first day in office was, morally, the right thing to do. The plan was to close the facility within a year but finding a place to send all the detainees has proven incredibly difficult.

It's clear, however, that holding people indefinitely without stating their charges and conducting secret military tribunals is not something that enhances this country's reputation as a place that is supposed to respect human rights and fairness. It sounds like something that happens in a dictatorship and it only becomes a rallying point for those who do not like this country.

"It's time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice," Obama said during the campaign.

President Obama is now catching some flak for releasing Guantanamo inmates because the suspected planners of the attempted Christmas Day airplane bombing were released from there. The problem is that the facility should have never been opened. It has only served to radicalize more potential terrorists.





8. Iraq, Afghanistan

Despite the criticism from Republicans and people like former Vice President Dick Cheney that he was "dithering," President Obama took his time in deciding whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan. I wish President George W. Bush was as deliberative. Sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan was the recommendation of the general that Obama assigned to run the show and something that the Bush Administration should have done.

Instead, this country engaged in a seemingly fruitless war in Iraq. I'm glad President Obama had the common sense to begin winding that war down and bringing home American troops home by 2011.

"We cannot rid Iraq of all who oppose America or sympathize with our adversaries. We cannot police Iraq's streets until they are completely safe, nor stay until Iraq's union is perfected. We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military, and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars," President Obama said. "America's men and women in uniform have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future. Now, we must ask the Iraqi people to seize it"



7. Prosecuting the C.I.A.

Unlike President George W. Bush, whose administration tried to be experts in areas where they did not have expertise, President Obama has properly assumed his role as delegator in chief. That's not an insult. President Obama seems firmly in control of his administration but he also seems to value the opinions of the people he picked to help him lead.

Allowing Attorney general Eric Holder to at least appoint a special prosecutor to examine a dozen abuses cases is the right thing to do. It's also a potentially explosive move.

Some question whether our intelligence gathering abilities will be diminished. What's clear is that our moral standing in the world, which is potentially more valuable, has already been diminished.

"As attorney general, my duty is to examine the facts and to follow the law," Mr. Holder said in a statement. "Given all of the information currently available, it is clear to me that this review is the only responsible course of action for me to take."

It's a good thing that he works for a boss that has allowed him that leeway.



6. The Beer Summit


A press conference about your top domestic priority is not the appropriate place to answer questions regarding the arrest of a Harvard Professor but President Obama deserves credit for speaking the truth. Asked about the arrest of Gates and whether it was racial profiling, Obama spoke a truth that many Blacks, Latinos and the poor live everyday.

"I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three - what I think we know separate and apart from this incident - is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact," Obama said.

The bad timing and unfortunate use of the word "stupidly" sent the country off on a tangent about race, which is never discussed with any sort of common sense, and almost overshadowed the plans for healthcare reform. But it was one of the few times that the first Black president has directly addressed racial issues.



5. Fox News: The Empire Strikes Back

If you've ever listened to Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck on Fox News you would think that Dick Cheney was the director of news operations there. The outright lies and exaggerations that they feed to the viewership is shameful. That's why I'm glad that the White House decided that Fox News was not worth talking to.

According to the New York Times:

Attacking the news media is a time-honored White House tactic but to an unusual degree, the Obama administration has narrowed its sights to one specific organization, the Fox News Channel, calling it, in essence, part of the political opposition. "We're going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent," said Anita Dunn, the White House communications director, in a telephone interview on Sunday. "As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don't need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave."

I don't agree with not speaking with a news organization if you disagree with what they fairly reported. The problem is that Fox News is not fair. They have tried to pass off opinion as news and they are doing it for profit.



4. Fat Cat Bankers

It is highly ridiculous that the bankers who helped create the conditions for this country's near financial collapse through their irresponsible lending were able to receive taxpayer bailouts and then refuse to limit executive compensation, would work to increase lending and rewrite mortgages that border on fraudulent.

President Obama, channeling the frustrations of millions of Americans, put it best:

"I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," Mr. Obama said in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" program on Sunday."They're still puzzled why is it that people are mad at the banks. Well, let's see," he said. "You guys are drawing down $10, $20 million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year that it's gone through in -- in decades, and you guys caused the problem. And we've got 10% unemployment."



3. Stimulus dollars

President Obama hasn't been afraid to fight off those who say he is pushing this country deeper into deficit by spending money to help Americans. While the deficit is scary, let's not forget that President George W. Bush's tax cuts did nothing to increase the surplus he inherited. When the country needed to stimulate spending, Obama signed the $787 billion package because he knows deficits won't matter if this country goes belly up.

According to the Associated Press:

The stimulus package was a huge victory for Obama less than one month into his presidency. But he struck a sober tone and lowered expectations for an immediate turnaround in the severe recession that is well into its second year. "None of this will be easy," President Obama said. "The road to recovery will not be straight. We will make progress, and there may be some slippage along the way." Still, he declared, "We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time."



2. Bipartisanship: Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em

Given the mandate that President Obama was given for change, and the sorry state of the union when he took over, it makes sense that he reached out to Republicans to help govern.

According to UPI:

Naming three Republicans to Cabinet posts and meeting with congressional Republicans to discuss the economic stimulus plan "were not designed simply to get some short-term votes. They were designed to try to build up some trust over time," Obama said during his first prime-time news conference as president.
But it quickly became clear that few Republicans were interested in any form of bipartisanship despite the tremendous issues facing this country. Instead of chipping in ideas, it seems that many Republicans abstained or became obstructionists in preparation for the next congressional and presidential elections.

Senator Arlen Spector, a former Republican, confirmed the GOP's strategy recently.

"I'd like to pick up on what Sen. DeMint says about the process. I think the process was very bad. But the process was really caused, in large measure, by the refusal of the Republicans to deal in any way," said Specter on Fox News. "Sen. DeMint is the author of the famous statement that this is going to be President Obama's 'Waterloo,' that this ought to be used to break the president," said Specter, referring to the political battle over health care. "So that before the ink was dry on the oath of office -- and I know this, because I was in the caucus -- the Republicans were already plotting ways to beat President Obama in 2012."

It's also good that President Obama, as the leader of his party, realized he was running up against a brick wall when dealing with Republicans on certain issues and decided to use the 60 vote super majority to pass what is the president's best moment of the year.




1. Healthcare Reform

It was President Bill Clinton's defeat at reforming healthcare that helped to embolden Republicans and led to the issues that plagued the rest of his presidency. By declaring healthcare reform as his top priority, President Obama put himself in a similar situation, especially when you had Republicans saying this should be his "Waterloo."

As imperfect as the bill is, its passage in both houses of Congress showed Obama's political will. It showed that he could do more than make great speeches and that he was willing to use whatever means necessary to help Americans. At least seven presidents have tried to reform healthcare and all have failed. It is arguably the biggest change to this country's safety net since Social Security and Medicare were enacted.

Instead of heading into the new year with optimism about some of his other initiatives, a defeat would have meant disarray. Now, with his poll numbers inching upwards, President Obama should continue taking bold steps.






Honorable Mention: Michelle Obama

What a great asset President Obama has in the First Lady. She's been able to step up and strike a balance between tackling serious issues like healthcare reform and military families while working the White House garden, focusing on what she said was her top priority of raising her girls, and remaining an inspiration for women across the country.