奥巴马全面仿照了里根（第二任期）的安全政策、老布什的支出政策、克林顿的税收政策、跨党派斯夸姆湖集团（Squam Lake Group）的金融监管政策、佩里的移民政策、麦凯恩（John McCain）的气候变化政策以及罗姆尼（至少在其担任马萨诸塞州州长期间）的医疗政策。
Obama broadly follows Ronald Reagan’s (second-term) security policy, George H.W. Bush’s spending policy, Bill Clinton’s tax policy, the bipartisan Squam Lake Group’s financial-regulatory policy, Perry’s immigration policy, John McCain’s climate-change policy, and Mitt Romney’s health-care policy (at least when Romney was governor of Massachusetts).