President Barack Obama's appearance in Madison Wednesday also marked the one-year anniversary of his historic election victory.
Since that night, Obama has dealt with many significant and complicated issues. The debates regarding health insurance reform and the economic stimulus have raged through the halls of Congress, and their effects have been felt in Wisconsin.
The largest impact Obama has made in Wisconsin has been through the economic stimulus plan.
Wisconsin has received billions in federal money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the government says over 10,000 jobs have been created or saved in the state since the stimulus plan was passed.
Some notable projects throughout the state include almost $4 million in funding for the Truax Field airport in Madison, $10.3 million to support the Milwaukee Police Department and $116.8 million to the UW System, much of it for research grants and financial assistance.
According to UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin, Obama's stimulus plan is having both a short- and long-term effect on the state.
""It's clear that stimulus money has helped state government in particular avoid some of the cuts or layoffs it would have done otherwise,"" Franklin said.
He added, ""I think the stimulus is having a long-term modest effect on the economy, one that may be hard for individuals to see but is overall effective nonetheless.""
Health insurance reform has been another major issue for the Obama presidency thus far, but progress has been slower. Bills to reform health insurance are still moving through both houses of Congress, and, according to Franklin, it is still hard to predict exactly how an eventual law might look.
