10 Things You Should Know About Barack Obama
President Barack Obama has been subjected to lots of rumors since first campaigning for the White House in the 2008 election. Here's a guide to some of the most outrageous myths and the truth behind them.
If you don't believe us, check out the the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads in part: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ..." Read more ...More »
Obama expressed support for tougher gun-control laws across the United States, but he also understood the political reality of getting any new firearm restrictions past Congress. During his two terms in office, Obama signed only two major laws that address how guns are carried in America, and both actually expand the rights of gun owners. Read more ...More »
To hear the conspiracy theorists describe it, Obama's first executive order officially closed off Obama's personal records to the public. See what his first executive order really did. Read more ...More »
Obama came under fire, and even threat of impeachment, for his alleged overuse of executive orders. But detractors often confused his use of administrative rule proposal with the move former executive orders, and they also ignored history: Obama had issued, on average, fewer executive orders than any of his modern-day predecessors. Read more ...More »
President Barack Obama's net worth is somewhere between $2 million and $7 million, according to his personal financial disclosures. So where did all that money come from? Here's a look. Read more ...More »
One of the goofiest conspiracy theories to envelop Obama was that he was born in Kenya and therefore ineligible to serve as president of the United States because he was not, according to these theories, an American-born citizen.
Related: Do Presidents Have to be Born on U.S. SoilMore »
The No Religious Test clause of the U.S. Constitution makes it perfectly clear that voters can elect a Muslim president of the United States or one belonging to any faith they choose, even none at all. Read more ... More »
Every president since 1952 has issued a proclamation designating the National Day of Prayer. And yes, that includes Obama - despite what you read on the Internet him canceling the event. Read more ...More »
Obama was described as the first gay president in a May 2012 Newsweek magazine headline. He earned the label during his first term for his vocal support of gay marriage in May 2012, making him the the first president in U.S. history to take such a position. Obama is married to Michelle Obama, and the couple has two daughters. Read more ...More »
Obama issued 22 pardons during his first term and 30 to date in his second term. He had denied 1,333 petitions for pardons. The number of pardons issued by Obama was far fewer than the number granted by Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.More »
1. He Can't Win a Third Term. Trust Us
If you don't believe us, check out the the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads in part: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ..." Read more ...More »
2. He Didn't Really Come to Take Your Guns
Obama expressed support for tougher gun-control laws across the United States, but he also understood the political reality of getting any new firearm restrictions past Congress. During his two terms in office, Obama signed only two major laws that address how guns are carried in America, and both actually expand the rights of gun owners. Read more ...More »
3. He Isn't Hiding His Personal Records From the Public
To hear the conspiracy theorists describe it, Obama's first executive order officially closed off Obama's personal records to the public. See what his first executive order really did. Read more ...More »
4. He Didn't Sign 923 Executive Orders
Obama came under fire, and even threat of impeachment, for his alleged overuse of executive orders. But detractors often confused his use of administrative rule proposal with the move former executive orders, and they also ignored history: Obama had issued, on average, fewer executive orders than any of his modern-day predecessors. Read more ...More »
5. He Really Is a Millionaire
President Barack Obama's net worth is somewhere between $2 million and $7 million, according to his personal financial disclosures. So where did all that money come from? Here's a look. Read more ...More »
6. He Did Release His Full Birth Cerficate
One of the goofiest conspiracy theories to envelop Obama was that he was born in Kenya and therefore ineligible to serve as president of the United States because he was not, according to these theories, an American-born citizen.
Related: Do Presidents Have to be Born on U.S. SoilMore »
7. He's Not Muslim. But Even if He Were, So What?
The No Religious Test clause of the U.S. Constitution makes it perfectly clear that voters can elect a Muslim president of the United States or one belonging to any faith they choose, even none at all. Read more ... More »
8. He Didn't Cancel the National Day of Prayer
Every president since 1952 has issued a proclamation designating the National Day of Prayer. And yes, that includes Obama - despite what you read on the Internet him canceling the event. Read more ...More »
9. He Wasn't Really Gay Even Though He Was Called the First Gay President
Obama was described as the first gay president in a May 2012 Newsweek magazine headline. He earned the label during his first term for his vocal support of gay marriage in May 2012, making him the the first president in U.S. history to take such a position. Obama is married to Michelle Obama, and the couple has two daughters. Read more ...More »
10. He Pardoned a Bunch of Convicts. But Not As Many As His Predecessors
Obama issued 22 pardons during his first term and 30 to date in his second term. He had denied 1,333 petitions for pardons. The number of pardons issued by Obama was far fewer than the number granted by Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.More »
