Americans Hopeful Obama Can Tackle The Issues

The American people and the citizens of the world expect a lot from Obama. Yesterday, a Congolese friend expressed his hope about an Obama administration intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo where civilians are being massacred by their own soldiers and other countries militias who seek to control some of the world's richest resources of minerals. The killing has been going on for at least 11 years but the violence has escalated again lately. This is just one of the numerous "world issues" the Obama administration faces, not to mention the "domestic issues".

Indeed, a Gallup poll asking people whether they thought Obama could resolve various problems shows that the public has faith in his success in 13 out of 15 items:

Item	Yes	No
Improve conditions for minorities and the poor	80%	19%
Increase respect for the U.S. abroad	76%	22%
Improve education	71%	27%
Improve the quality of the environment	70%	28%
Reduce unemployment	67%	32%
Bring U.S. troops home from Iraq	66%	33%
Improve the health care system	64%	34%
Create a strong economic recovery	64%	34%
Keep the U.S. safe from terrorism	62%	36%
Bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan	58%	40%
Reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil	57%	41%
Heal political divisions in this country	54%	44%
Control federal spending	52%	46%
Substantially reduce the federal budget deficit	42%	56%
Avoid raising your taxes	36%	61%
Control illegal immigration	35%	62%

Illustration: Design For Obama