One of the most significant measures of a president’s success is the number of “firsts.” Some are worthy of praise. Ronald Reagan, for example, was the first president to directly challenge the Soviet Union and attempt to collapse its empire rather than try to co-exist through a policy of “mutually assured destruction.”

Others firsts, however, are dubious, and it’s safe to say that Barack Obama could easily establish himself as the president with the most firsts of that kind.

He was the first president, after all, to lead the U.S. to a downgrade in its credit rating.

He was the first to refuse to defend an existing law – the Defense of Marriage Act – by declaring it unconstitutional.

The list of Obama’s firsts seems limitless, and WND is now providing a new forum for readers to help compile a record for the history books.

In WND’s forum section, readers will find many more opportunities to weigh in on a variety of subjects, including:

• LAUGHLINES: Times are rough in America, and sometimes people need something to laugh about. Laughlines is a forum in which readers can post the best of the jokes they’ve heard. Some may end up as WND’s JOKE OF THE DAY.
• MR. PRESIDENT: This is the only forum in the world in which citizens can pose questions to the most powerful man in the world. Come up with a good one for Barack Obama and you may hear it asked at the next press conference by our White House correspondent.
• YOU BE THE NEWS EDITOR: Have you ever felt like you should be running WND? Are you a news junkie? Are you on top of breaking news? Well, now you can actually help us stay on top of it all by posting the hottest stories on the “You Be the News Editor” forum. You won’t just be informing those reading the forum, you may be informing WND editors who will check it along with their other stops on the Net. Who knows? This could be your big break into the news business.
• ASSIGNMENT DESK: Not to be confused with “You Be the News Editor,” where you post breaking news first, in this feature readers post the assignments for the WND news team. We can’t promise we’ll get to them all. But, if we don’t, maybe some other enterprising news organization will. Is everybody missing the boat on some big story you know about? Let us know at “Assignment Desk.”
• OPERATION SPIKE is the original WND forum, dating back to 1997. Help us compile the most covered-up stories every year and give them the exposure they deserve in a January report by our staff.
• YOUR BEST POLL IDEAS: Every news editor at WND will be grateful for your participating in “Your Best Poll Ideas.” It’s not easy coming up with an original poll question seven days a week. So we’re soliciting your help. Make sure you ask the question and provide a balanced set of answers if you want to see your poll on the front page.
• MAKING A 180: Author, producer and street evangelist Ray Comfort has released an extraordinary new video called “180″ that he calls not just a “game changer” but a “nation changer.” Here’s your opportunity to talk about a video that has been praised by one viewer as “one of the most incredible tools I’ve ever seen.”

Check out WND’s new forum, “Obama was the first president to …”

[Read More...]