Both Obama and Clinton touted plans that would provide health care for the country, but we want to make sure that these promises are kept. There are indispensable portions of Obama’s plan that people of color cannot give up. We need affordable insurance for our families and we need our hospitals to be accountable for their disparities in care. These cannot be compromised under political pressure because we need a plan that fully addresses racial inequity in the health care system.

Obama has promised to probe the constitutionality of any executive order signed by George W. Bush during his early days in office if he is elected.

Executive Order 13224 should be on Obama’s hit list. Originated in the politics of fear that followed the September 11th attacks, this executive order gave the Treasury the power to block the assets of any person or entity deemed a threat to national security. The problem with Bush’s order is that the list of terror proponents was guided by racial profiling and perpetuated the idea that all Muslims are a threat to the United States. This, and other executive orders that followed during the War in Iraq, have tacitly created an open season on people of color. Without any checks on the president’s power, reports from California of FBI agents monitoring mosques are no surprise.

We don’t know who will be on the ticket with Barack Obama, and it remains to be seen whether his charisma will help us win the big fights in health care and criminal justice, but we do know that the best start to being an effective President is making good on your promises.