Watch Obama justify his use of Executive Orders post-SOTU speech 2014

Here are all Obama's orders thus far and here are all presidential orders. He has already issued 166 which by the way is a long way behind Reagan who had 380.

from http://usgovteducatorsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/executive-orders.html

SOTU Address - analysis: articles and podcast

Economist
Politico
Fox

Shutdown + debt ceiling = student confusion? start here!

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/08/republicans-obamacare-shutdown-debt-ceiling-explainer

US government shutdown for beginners

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/us-shutdown-explainer-non-americans

Videos explaining "Obamacare"

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/exp/affordable-care-act/index.html?sf17594230=1

Filibuster, Obamacare and the debt ceiling 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/us/politics/senate-budget-battle.html

Obama nominations

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/19/224133307/republicans-push-back-on-obamas-d-c-court-nominees

Mark Mazzetti on Obama's Speech on Drone Policy - NYTimes.com

Mark Mazzetti on Obama's Speech on Drone Policy - NYTimes.com:

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Excellent article about Obama's second term

A simple to understand yet insightful article about Obama's second term. Good refs to relationship with congress. 

Oliver Stone: Obama a wolf in sheep's clothing? - YouTube

Oliver Stone: Obama a wolf in sheep's clothing - YouTube:

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Obama War Powers Act Libya

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/opinion/17fri1.html?_r=0

Excellent article: US Politics: The Start of Obama’s Second Term

Revision Update: US Politics: The Start of Obama’s Second Term:

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EXCELLENT ARTICLE: US Politics: Obama’s Second Administration

Revision Update: US Politics: Obama’s Second Administration:

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The Imperial Presidency - YouTube

The Imperial Presidency - YouTube:

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How successful is Obama as President? CQ Ratings

2012 Congressional Vote Studies | The Data Mine – CQ Roll Call: "ck Obama first took office, he enjoyed Democratic majorities in both chambers and record high success rates. In 2009, Obama won on 94 percent of House votes on which he expressed a clear  position, tying Lyndon Johnson’s record from 1965. He prevailed on 99 percent of Senate votes that year, by far the highest success rate on record."

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May 2013 How strong is the US presidency?

http://m.guardiannews.com/commentisfree/2013/may/08/obama-not-lame-duck-gop-obstructs-everything

Good synopticity here. Liberal Guardian backing the blame-the-GOP line. 

Obama versus Congress on Guantanamo | Nicholas Wapshott

As a candidate in 2008, Obama, a distinguished Harvard-educated legal scholar known in the Senate for his common sense and humanity, promised to quickly close the prison for 166 terrorist suspects in the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The existence of a U.S. detention center that ignores the basic legal right of habeas corpus and the failure to bring prisoners to trial after so many years “erode our moral claims that we are acting on behalf of broader universal principles,” he said. He went on to repeat his pledge, yet five years on, Gitmo is still open for business.

The president’s embarrassment can be blamed, in part, on his naïveté. For a while after his inauguration in 2009 he appeared to be under the impression he had been elected the most powerful man on earth. It has taken four painful years for him to realize that the division of government guaranteed by the Constitution prevents him from doing not only what he wishes but what a majority of Americans have mandated.

Under the guise of saving money, Congress has stymied the president’s plan to try those believed guilty of terrorist offenses on U.S. soil and to release the 86 innocents who have been held without trial for years. Despite their insistence that they believe in America’s system of justice, it appears that many congressmen have little faith in it.

Obama versus Congress on Guantanamo | Nicholas Wapshott:

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Dec 2011: Why Obama Can't Close Guantanamo | Foreign Affairs

Why Obama Can't Close Guantanamo | Foreign Affairs:

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Congress has used its spending oversight authority both to forbid the White House from financing trials of Guantánamo captives on U.S. soil and to block the acquisition of a state prison in Illinois to hold captives currently held in Cuba who would not be put on trial -- a sort of Guantánamo North. The current defense bill now before Congress not only reinforces these restrictions but moves to mandate military detention for most future al Qaeda cases unless the president signs a waiver. The White House withdrew a veto threat on the eve of likely passage Wednesday, saying the latest language gives the executive enough wiggle room to avoid military custody.

May 2013: Obama's Renewed Push to Close Guantanamo Faces Test in Congress - WSJ.com

The Gitmo hunger strike has seen Obama renew his attempts to close the detention centre.
Obama's Renewed Push to Close Guantanamo Faces Test in Congress - WSJ.com:

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Presidency/Congress: Reports of Congressional Drone Oversight Are Greatly Exaggerated - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic

Reports of Congressional Drone Oversight Are Greatly Exaggerated - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic:

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