As President Obama moves into his second term, his policy priorities, and the policies themselves, will likely shift. Yesterday we learned that the Obama administration is considering the “zero option” when the United States withdraws from Afghanistan in 2014, leaving no American troops behind in the country. Elisabeth Bumiller, Pentagon correspondent for Takeaway partner The New York Times, discusses the Administration’s policy shifts in Afghanistan.
Domestically, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and the announcement that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the United States, environmental activists are optimistic that the White House will take action on climate change in President Obama’s second term. Coral Davenport, energy and environment correspondent for the National Journal, says Obama has brought renewed energy to the issue:
“Since reelection, literally since the night of reelection, the president has been coming back, again and again. He addressed climate change in his election night speech, he talked about it on New Year’s Day when he gave a speech about the fiscal cliff bill… He has said that it’s one of his top three priorities.”
President Obama is also “seriously considering” hosting a summit on climate change.