What does Obama know about government grants?

Why is Obama so big on government grant and assistance programs? Why is he adding more government funding programs to the stimulus? Does he really know what people need, or is he just putting our country further into debt by giving away free grant money to people who don’t deserve it?
When I think about government grant programs it brings to mind the type of people who would qualify for them, and what the requirements should be. Who would know best what funding is needed, but someone who has worked closely with those individuals for any great length of time.
Over his career, Obama has devoted countless hours to developing community projects. Because of his close interaction with the public, I think he better understands what is happening behind the scenes in these low income areas. He has seen-first hand-what assistance people are in need of because he has been “in the trenches” and interacted personally with those who are truly in need of help.
If we take a look back through his educational and political history, it is evident that he has an in depth understanding of the need for public assistance.
After graduating from high school in 1979, Barack moved to Los Angeles and went to Occidental College for two years before transferring to New York’s Columbia University. He majored in political science and international relations. He was involved in the Developing Communities Project in Chicago. With his help, the program set up job training programs, college prep tutoring programs, tenant’s rights organization, etc. for individuals in low income neighborhoods to have the chance to help themselves and their families into a better living situation.
In 1988 he studied law at Harvard. He worked for several law firms in Chicago during his summer breaks. After graduating, he went back to Chicago and began writing a book about race relations called Dreams from My Father. He then set up a voter registration drive to get unregistered African Americans to vote.
Barack taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago before joining a law firm that focused on civil rights cases and economic development. He was on the board of directors for the Woods Fund of Chicago, the first program to fund the Developing Communities Project, the Joyce Project-gun violence prevention and awareness, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge-a public school reform project, the Chicago Lawyers committee for Civil Rights, and Center for Neighborhood Technology-a non-profit to bring internet access to underdeveloped communities.
Obama has been involved with many other community development projects prior to his election into the Illinois State Legislator. Once in office, he sponsored legislation increasing tax credits for low income workers, monitoring of racial profiling by law enforcement, welfare and the “social safety net” reform, childcare subsidies, predatory mortgage and payday loan regulations, etc.
He has voted in favor of funding energy production of various types to overcome the current problems our country faces, and also a Federal Funding Transparency Act-requiring full disclosure to the public-how organizations use the government funding they receive. Obama sponsored a bill for State Children’s Health Insurance Programs and has supported the elimination of taxes for senior citizens with annual incomes less than fifty thousand.
Throughout his career he has had involvement in numerous programs aimed at creating a better community and a better country for us to live in. I would say he has a pretty good understanding of what types of federal assistance different areas of this country need, and what the qualifications of those grant programs should be.