Is Obama Keeping His Promises?

Newsweek:

History will judge Barack Obama over the long haul. But we've learned something in the short term that is simple, obvious, and has less to do with him than with the Founding Fathers. This is a country that often has transformational ambitions but is saddled with an incremental system, a nation built on revolution, then engineered so the revolutionary can rarely take hold.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[dianhow]

FYI for the misinformed Obama has:
1 passed stimulous - to prevent a depression
2. passed medical leave act
3. increased funding for education
4. ' ' EPA
5. new funding for land water conservation
6.extended unemployment comp pay
7. enactment of Matthrew Shepherd act- expands hate crime law
8. modernize electric grid
9. Assure V A budget is prepared as ' must pass' legislation !
10. passed $ 8000 tax credit for 1st time buyers
11. just expanded # 11
12. Cash for clunkers- which -helped auto industry jobs- sales etc.
13 traveled extensively to improve relations with other countries -
why ? We can not keep fighting wars all the time- our troops are burned out - on 2-4 tours .
Obama did not criticize Americans overseas-
just US past foreign policy - that has led to more and more enemies.
14. working on a existing homeowner tax credit
15 working on many many others

[dianhow]

PWM You are correct - and this was NO ' ordinary ' recession - was almost a deep depressiom
50 promises Obama kept : go to www.politifact.com
Do right wingers keep track of the many Bush- Cheney many FAILURES ?
1. lying us into Iraq - leading to tens of 1000 's of UNnecessary deaths
2. Screwing up the Afghan war 7 long years (dithering )
3. Saying No to min wage increase
4. No to new 2008 GI bill - till public outcry made him switch
5. Saying Iraq war will be short
6. saying Iraqi OIL will pay
7. Saying NO to more body armor for troops
and so on....

[blimie]

He is not keeping his promises He belongs to wall street and the too big to fail financial institutions. He didn't tell us that when he was running for office.

[hhayden]

Give him time. He will make them small enough to fail. It's working with GM.

[dianhow]

blim simply nonsense - Nothing to back it up
Obama 10 months VS 29 yrs of Reagan- Bush GOP created toxic policies and ' leadership'
led us to global disaster - Only 1 DEM Pres in 28 years !! Clinton -left us a surplus and
millions of new jobs THE RECORD IS THERE FOR ALL TO SEE
www.politifact.com
www.factcheck.org

[CapitolBarrister]

The only promises Obama appears to be keeping are to continue the Bush Presidency no matter how much neocon politics hurt ordinary Americans. Keep the change.

[hhayden]

It's not surprising really. Bush was very much like a democrat in many ways. Like how he spent money and built the federal government. Except for the war against radical Islam, I wonder why they don't love him.

[Texas4Obama]

Of the 515 Obama campaign promises being tracked:
49 promises Kept, 127 In the Works
The Obameter: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
on the right side of the page

President Obama is doing a great job so far!

-----
And here's another link to a long list of Obama accomplishments
http://www.demconwatchblog.com/diary/2523/what-has-obama-done-in-8-months

[hhayden]

You mean like the one about no lobbyists in my administration or the one about no pork in the "stimulus" package? Or the long list of other li'es?

But we do get the long list of self serving left wing initatives that do little to help anyone or anything.

[Texas4Obama]

Are you serious?
Reversed restrictions on stem cell research isn't going to help anyone?
The Lilly Ledbetter Act isn't going to help women?
The foreclosure prevention fund isn't going to help homeowners?
The credit card "bill of rights" isn't going to help consumers?
The expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP) isn't going to help children?

The list goes on and on of the good things that President Obama has already done for America.

Keep on drinking that right-wing kool-aid it is turning your brain into mush.

[nancychatter]

Obama will be able to nominate 2 justices to the Supreme Court in the coming years.....
That will be interesting........

[hhayden]

Are you salavation at the thought of their subverting the Constitution further?

[ApolloniaCreed]

We are not "a year in".

[nancychatter]

Exactly, it will take longer than that ,by a long shot, to get some things changed....
I am totally willing to give him the benefit of the doubt right now...

[hhayden]

I'll meet you half way. I'm willing to give him the doubt.

[Vernondelray]

In his campaign he promised not to issue signing statements. He reversed on that almost instantly. He is a liar and cannot be trusted, but after all, he is just a politician and a slave to lobbying money, just like every one of them. BTW, not taking lobbyist money was another campaign promise he broke as soon as he was sworn in. He could have NEVER done these things and kept his word, no need to wait for him to simply live up to his promises and conduct his administration as he promised he would.

[hhayden]

Right, we still have several months of being sc'rewed to come.

[PWM]

He is doing pretty good so far, I cannot recall another President who has been so serious about keeping his promises.

Obama Record as of 10/21/9
Promises kept (49)
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/promise-kept/
Promises broken (7)
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/promise-broken/
Compromises (14)
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/compromise/
In the Works (127)
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/in-the-works/
Overall Count
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

[Marcospinelli]

Politifact only recognizes 7 broken promises and cuts the pro-corporate, we@seI-lawyerly-speaking Obama much slack.

I'll explain to you how Politifact has gamed its way of measuring Obama's "promise-keeping"; its categories ('NO ACTION', 'IN THE WORKS' or 'STALLED') are misleading. Many a campaign promise or pledge (hundreds of them) has been generously placed in these categories to languish.

As Politifact claims, "Once we find action is completed, we rate them 'PROMISE KEPT' 'COMPROMISE' or 'PROMISE BROKEN'". By Politifact's own definition, it enables Obama to keep these issues in limbo for 4 years.

Obama pledged action "On day one ..." and transparency, so that citizens could see what was or wasn't being done. No sooner did he enter office than he slammed the door shut on transparency.

One of many examples of Politifact's gaming its list is that Politifact doesn't even list in its "Promises Broken" category Obama's campaign promise to impose 'Windfall Profits Taxes on the Oil & Gas Industry" - Obama immediately reneged on it once in office, saying, "The prices have now dropped - We'll see about doing that if or when they rise again."

With oil hovering at $80/barrel, Obama is salsa dancing, photo-ops all day long (capped off by fundraising dinners) and not using the power of his office to shepherd public health care through Congress (a real jobs creation bill is single payer).

This is not leadership -- This is a detached corporate shill.

[CapitolBarrister]

Promises kept? Nonsense.

Keep the change.

[dianhow]

creed - Right almost 10 months Obama won election 1 year ago but -took power 1-20-09
He has done a lot already - more to come - will we disagree with some of it
You betcha - thats expected. I will tally it all up in 3 years
after what O took on- toxic global collapse- wars- screwing of the working class etc
he deserves that

[nancychatter]

In our TV viewing society, people want Obama to wrap things up in an hour minus commercials...
It's not going to happen..

[hhayden]

I'll bet you will still be saytng that three years from now.

[nancychatter]

Whatever I am saying in three years will be much better than the last eight when I cringed EVERYTIME the former POTUS spoke ....I watched our country deceived into war, torture, and systematic denial of due process.
What world were you living?
President Obama is a good human and that's a huge step up from the previous mess we were in...

[ApolloniaCreed]

Probably so. Because whether the President keeps him promises remains to be seen. Because presidents (well at least not this one) just don't make executive orders or wave wands and VOILA! There is a process. Let's judge in about 7.25 years.

[dianhow]

nancy Yep thats our problem we want it done Now
Instant gratification society.
Life does not work that way How childish and silly for any one to expect it
Obama 's 9 -10 months VS 29 years of toxic GOP policy - ' leadership'

[HLL]

I've always thought, that one of the reasons candidates' promises dematerialize is because once the candidate become President, the intelligence and National Security reports are outlined for the new President which changes everything. I cannot imagine a more harrowing job than being President of the United States, especially when two wars are raging and we are bankrupt and in debt.

I'm assuming President Obama is doing the best he can. The first 12 months are getting familiar with the job, but from November on, what the President does will be under greater scrutiny from me. If the Health Care Bill passes with a Public Option, that will go a long way to buying President Obama more time to achieve his "change we can believe in."

[hhayden]

Well, I agree that he is doing the best he can - but that's not really saying much.

[yankee222]

He excels at recreation. What president has played more hoops, more rounds of golf or taken more junkets?

[wltdnfaded]

And you can do better, right Hayden? Go ahead, run for POTUS, see how far you get.

[1dogs2]

Why November? He didn't take office until Jan. 21.

[dianhow]

HLL I agree totally Folks need to stop griping -take a breath- and give him a chance to
do his job. then decide i n 3 years - on the job he has done . FOX demonizes him
daily so give it a rest . Why not put time to good use- and be politically active - call
- e- mail - Obama www.whitehouse.gov call 202 456 1414
www.politifact.com www.factcheck.org www.recovery.gov

[Tierra]

The really sad state of national politics is that, out of 535 elected officials, plus Obama and Biden, only 5,10, maybe 15 or twenty are honest, ethical, stand-up people who take keeping their campaign promises seriously.

Bernie Sanders, Russ Feingold, Kucinich, Paul, Grayson, et al...you can probably count them on the fingers of two hands.

These are intruments of WE THE PEOPLE.

The rest are.....well.....Fill in the blank.

[hhayden]

Five may be overstating it.

[motherfather]

Term limits anyone? How about Bloomie using his financial acumen to demand another four years as mayor of NY? THe rich have us all by the panty hairs! Going and coming! Imagine, here in NJ, I have to choose between two millionaires for gov, a barber and a social misfit for mayor and assemblyman? BUT..they are rich, so who am I to complain! .

[hhayden]

Like his promise that there would be no pork in his "stimulus" bill or no lobbyists in his cabinet? Like his promise that unemployment wouldn't go over 8.5%. Or his promise that there would be no single bid contracts ot that Obamacare won't add a dime to the deficit. (Shall we put some money down on that one). His tenure so far has been an avalanch of promises - broken ones.

[wltdnfaded]

Grow up, Hayden. Join the adult world where things don't always work out as one planned.

[hhayden]

A great blanket excuse. When will he take responsability for himself? So then, why was Bush 1 roasted by the left when he had to raise taxes?










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[PiscesPrincess]

hayden; how Old Are you, Son? this is the real world where presidential promises have rarely worked out as planned. and he Knew that, you know. tsk, you obviously didn't. Give the man some breathing room.

[PWM]

He is obviously a kid, wet behind the ears with nothing better to do then try and impress the adults.

[AnotherAngle]

All I can say is LOL.

So you are saying he knew his promises wouldn't work out, but he made them anyway?

[hhayden]

Old enough to know better. Old enough to know when excuses are made because a bad choice for president was made. Old enough to recognize broken promises when I see them apparently. What has age gained you if you are so out of touch? If they rarely work out as planned, why make them?

[DrBrewster]

Angry Republican's made a huge mess when they had their chance.
Now they just want Barack to clean it all up and fail simultaneously? Huh?

I would elect President Obama over and over and over!

[hhayden]

I didn't vote for Bush either time and didn't approve of what he did many times (Like the Patriot Act) but I would vote for him anytime over Obama.

[PWM]

Bush's Legacy:
1) Not preventing 9/11
2) Going to war with Iraq on trumped up charges of WMD.
3) Violating the basic rights of Americans
4) Torturing foreign women and children in his war of terror
5) Turning the 800 billon dollar surplus budget into a $1.2 trillion budget deficit
6) Running up the National Debt 89%
7) Doing nothing about the price of fuel and wall street corruption leading to the economic depression we are now facing.
8) Cutting the taxes on himself and his rich friends
9) Breaking the law by giving no-bid contracts to Halliburton to build nonusable buildings in Iraq.
10) Took 977 vacation days while POTUS.
11) Allowing CIA doctors to experiment on prisoners.

So you approve of what he did then.

[ApolloniaCreed]

Seriously? Based on what exactly?

[PiscesPrincess]

you mean to say you were old enough to vote both times for Bush and didn't? and now you wouldn't vote for Obama? exactly what are you driving at Son?
for a man your age you should have grown up a bit by now, don't you think?
tsk.

[jennylynn]

and keep failing over and over again.

[hhayden]

They will never admit that they hooked their wagon to the wrong donkey.

[PWM]

Far from it. If McCain had won we would be in a deep economic depression with millions more out of work.

[whodoyouvoodoo]

When do we get our little red books to wav around here in utopia?

[hhayden]

They havn't got Me'in Kam'ph out yet.

[nancychatter]

Since you brought up books, at least the current POTUS can actually READ.

[hhayden]

Glad to hear he has accomplished something positive. Now I hope he focuses on understanding.

[Gonzaloo]

President Barack Obama is an Excellent President. (And it’s still early in his presidency)
The negative gripping is short sighted and immature if not down right silly.

We the progressives are all fighting a well established malevolent system that has been in place since the “conservative era” from Reagan to Bush. (Racism , Misogynism, Gay Bashing, Religious Rightism, you name it they did it) That's 30 years of rotten policy, Prez O can’t change it all in just a few months!

Remember lots of bad people want to see Barack ( and the progressives) fail.
Back Barack, (don’t nitpick) Help him bring about the Change!

[hhayden]

When is it ever time for a power hungry li'er like Obama?

You are one first class stereotyper, I'll give you that.

I think that most conservative want anyone to fail at socializing the nation and building the nanny state. I thik it's a good idea for those who want to chip away at freedom and self determination to fail.

[jennylynn]

Excellent.

[PWM]

What socialism looks like in the USA http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/conor_clarke/2009/06/what_socialism_looks_like.php

[wltdnfaded]

So much much does the RNC pay you bloggers? do you get paid by word or do you have a quota of posts?

[nancychatter]

Yes, God forbid,
we get a little more "socialized" and help out out fellow citizens instead of Big banks and Big corporations....
What a RADICAL idea....

[PiscesPrincess]

ah, there you go, looking in the mirror and projecting what you see there onto the person you are criticizing. again. and again... stop inflicting yourself on the rest of us. tsk

[Oakland]

less to do with him than with the Founding Fathers? What garbage! Seems the rich and powerful always have an excuse. The rest of us just get fired or sent to jail. Guess FDR had different Founding Fathers than the corportists that have taken over our government.

[PiscesPrincess]

you left out the MSM. they have also been taken over by corporate america. sigh..

[hhayden]

Yet they still gush over Obama - why is that?