Barack to reverse Bush directives - Change we can believe in

People wanted Change; they will get Change. Science should leap by considerable bounds with no restrictive limits on stem cell research. The Bush administration held back research due to outdated religious beliefs. Research that could help people walk again from spinal injuries. Research that could cure debilitating diseases. 8 years lost as scientists tried to find creative new solutions while their best tools were locked away due to the "power and wisdom" of President Bush.

Barack Obama prepares to reverse hundreds of Bush directives

Barack Obama is preparing to overturn hundreds of rules and regulations on stem cell research, climate change and birth control introduced by the man he will replace in ten weeks.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 12:02AM GMT 10 Nov 2008

Mr Obama is to meet Mr Bush at the White House on Monday. The visit will include a tour of the residence for his wife Michelle conducted by First Lady Laura Bush, and forms part of what Obama aides described as a "collegiate" transition of power.

Despite his fierce criticism of the Bush administration during the campaign, Mr Obama and his advisers are being treated with full cooperation as the handover gets properly underway.

John Podesta, head of the victorious Democrat's transition team, said White House staff were "being very forthcoming". "We are moving in a very professional way," he said on CBS' Face the Nation.

In his weekly radio address Mr Bush, who has fully embraced the historic nature of Mr Obama's election last week as the first African American president, said that a smooth handover was paramount.

"I told him [Mr Obama] that he can count on my complete cooperation," he said. "Ensuring that this transition is seamless is a top priority for the rest of my time in office."

Mr Podesta, who is heading the president-elect's transition team, said that the incoming administration was reviewing Bush's executive orders on stem cell research, oil and gas drilling, and other matters.

He told Fox television that the idea was to use executive orders to move quickly without waiting for Congress to act.

"I'm not going to preview decisions that he has yet to make. But I would say that as a candidate, Senator Obama said that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed, and decide which ones should be kept, and which ones should be repealed, and which ones should be amended. And that process is going on. It's been undertaken," said Mr Podesta, who was chief of staff under President Bill Clinton.

"There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action," he added.

Other aides said probable early targets for reforms would be regulations regarded as overtly political. During the campaign Mr Obama indicated that we wanted to end limits on stem cell research, which the scientific community has claimed has hampered the effort to combat a range of diseases.

He may lift a ban that prevents international family planning organisations that receive US government aid advising women about the possibility of abortion and in some cases discouraging common contraceptive methods.

Last year the Bush administration denied California the authority to limit carbon emissions from vehicles. During the campaign Mr Obama stated his belief that the country's biggest state should have the power to do so.

A friend of the Obamas yesterday affirmed that Michelle will not seek a Hillary Clinton-style role at her husband's decision-making table.

Valerie Jarrett, a co-chair of the transition team, said that she initially be focused on settling in her two daughters.

Then, Mrs Jarrett said, the next first lady would want to help women juggle a career and motherhood, assist military spouses and promote volunteerism.