Obama to Upend Policies With Exec Orders

President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas, the AP reports. John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said today Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders in an effort to undo policies enacted during 8 years of Republican rule.

He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own. "There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we'll see the president do that," Podesta said. "I think that he feels like he has a real mandate for change. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set." (More Barack Obama stories.)