WASHINGTON -- If elected president in November, Mitt Romney is sure going to have a busy first day. No sitting around and chatting with his neighbors or getting used to his new desk in the Oval Office.
Instead, Romney has promised to accomplish no fewer than 15 tasks on his first day in office. These range from the relatively quick (reinstating the so-called Mexico City Policy, which is a political football for presidents when they take office), to the overly ambitious and perhaps unrealistic (have a solution to undocumented immigration ready to go), to the philosophical ("end these days of drift and disappointment").
At times, Romney's promises seem to butt up against once another, as President Obama pointed out during their first debate. Romney's marquee promise is to put a stop to the Affordable Care Act. But he also wants to sit down with both Republicans and Democrats on the first day in an effort to foster greater bipartisanship.
"Well, first of all, I think Gov. Romney’s going to have a busy first day, because he’s also going to repeal 'Obamacare,' which will not be very popular among Democrats as you’re sitting down with them," quipped Obama, to laughter from the audience.
Nevertheless, Romney's Day One promises give a glimpse at what he would focus on if voters elect him president in November. Much of his efforts would be aimed at undoing some of Obama's accomplishments that conservatives find most abhorrent, but they also would fundamentally shift the policies of the federal government and the direction of the country.
The Huffington Post's Political Mashups Team put together a video of Romney outlining some of his Day One promises. Watch the video above.
Romney's Day One promises:
ENERGY
- Approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline (and perhaps build it with his own bare hands)
- Sign an executive order boosting drilling
HEALTH CARE
- Sign an executive order that would pave the way to end Obamacare
IMMIGRATION
- Get started on a long-term plan to solve the problem of undocumented immigration
- Drop the lawsuit against Arizona for its measure cracking down on undocumented immigration
INTERNATIONAL
- Sign an executive order sanctioning China for unfair trade practices
- Reinstate the "Mexico City Policy," which bans U.S. funds from going to international family planning organizations that provide abortions
- Reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent
- Reinstate the president’s Trade Promotion Authority to facilitate negotiation of new trade agreements
- Explore opening more land for drilling
- Look at taking federal programs and returning responsibility to the states
- Cut non-security discretionary spending in the federal budget by 5 percent
OTHER
- Sign an executive order immediately eliminating Obama-era regulations that "unduly burden the economy or job creation"
- Fight to repeal Davis-Bacon Act, which requires that workers are paid prevailing wages on public works projects
- Sit down with Democrats and Republicans
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