Obama: Has he kept his promises?

[garthranzz]

Politifact.com runs a feature called the "truth-o-meter," like factcheck.org. It tracks public figures and has a system from "true" (which may be qualified) to "pants on fire". There's a special scorecard for Obama. You can check out full details at the website. Below is a listing. His record seems pretty go so far; not perfect, not what I'd like; a lot of compromise - not of his choosing, but still.

We need to criticize, of course, but constructively.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

The Obameter Scorecard
Promise Kept 119
Compromise 37
Promise Broken 19
Stalled 82
In the Works 245
Not yet rated 3
PolitiFact has compiled more than 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter.

We rate their status as Not Yet Rated, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.

The report card at right provides an up-to-the-minute tally of all the promises.

Other ways to browse the Obameter

All promises
PolitiFact's Top 25 Promises
By Subject
Economy
Energy
Military
Taxes

[midnight]

1. Good info. I had some trouble with what he did with the tax

stuff. I went to look at what he didn't do. This is more clear and seems like it could of helped many out in this economy.No. 24: End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000
"Will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will eliminate taxes for 7 million seniors -- saving them an average of $1,400 a year-- and will also mean that 27 million seniors will not need to file an income tax return at all.">>More

No. 30: End no-bid contracts above $25,000
"Will ensure that federal contracts over $25,000 are competitively bid.">>More

No. 71: Allow imported prescription drugs
"Allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S.">>More

No. 86: Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive study of federal cancer initiatives
"As president, Barack Obama will immediately direct his Secretary of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with agency officials, academic researchers, cancer survivors and advocates for people with cancer, and state public health officials, to comprehensively examine the various cancer-related efforts of federal agencies, and provide recommendations to eliminate barriers to effective coordination across federal agencies and between the federal government and other stakeholders.">>More

No. 221: Double the Peace Corps
"Barack Obama will double the Peace Corps to 16,000 by its 50th anniversary in 2011 and push Congress to fully fund this expansion, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.">>More

No. 234: Allow five days of public comment before signing bills
To reduce bills rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them, Obama "will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.">>More

No. 240: Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials
"No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.">>More

No. 249: Double funding for afterschool programs
"Will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.">>More

No. 292: Urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws
As president, "will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws.">>More

No. 313: Allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of a home mortgage
Will repeal provisions of the Chapter 13 law that prohibit bankruptcy judges from modifying the original terms of home mortgages for ordinary families -- regardless of whether the loan was predatory or unfair or is otherwise unaffordable -- "so that ordinary families can also get relief that bankruptcy laws were intended to provide.">>More

No. 339: Support human mission to moon by 2020
Will "endorse the goal of sending human missions to the Moon by 2020, as a precursor in an orderly progression to missions to more distant destinations, including Mars.">>More

No. 379: Pay for the national service plan without increasing the deficit
"Will maintain fiscal responsibility and prevent any increase in the deficit by offsetting cuts and revenue sources in other parts of the government (to pay for a national service plan that will cost about $3.5 billion per year when it is fully implemented). This plan will be paid for in part by cancelling tax provisions that would otherwise help multinational corporations pay less in U.S. taxes starting in 2008 by reallocating tax deductions for interest expenses between income earned in the U.S. and income earned abroad. The rest of the plan will be funded using a small portion of the savings associated with ending the war in Iraq.">>More

No. 428: Give annual "State of the World" address
"I'll give an annual 'State of the World' address to the American people in which I lay out our national security policy.">>More

No. 431: Reduce earmarks to 1994 levels
"Barack Obama is committed to returning earmarks to less than $7.8 billion a year, the level they were at before 1994.">>More

No. 508: Allow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009
"Obama and Biden are calling for legislation that would allow withdrawals of 15% up to $10,000 from retirement accounts without penalty (although subject to the normal taxes). This would apply to withdrawals in 2008 (including retroactively) and 2009.">>More

No. 511: Recognize the Armenian genocide
"Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. … as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.">>More

No. 515: No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase."
"I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.">>More

No. 517: Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN
To achieve health care reform, "I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies -- they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process.">>More

No. 518: Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance Exchange.
"The exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency.">>More

[geek tragedy]

2. I'm glad he broke the promise to fund missions to the Moon.

Talk about wasteful . . .

[boppers]

3. Caveat:

He reduced support for sending meat-buckets to the moon.

During his admin, we've *continued* funding missions to the moon (remember "bombed the moon"?)... we've just reduced wasting money on sending pointlessly fragile payloads (that are ridiculously expensive to manage).

[FrenchieCat]

4. I think he's done some really good things in these first 18 months.....

and in fact, based on the multiple negative threads on this President
and I look forward to the next 24 months.....


Obama has a higher rate of appointing women and minorities to the courts

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted Republicans’ successful efforts to obstruct President Obama from appointing judges to the federal courts. Despite these efforts, the Inquirer notes, Obama has had a higher “rate of appointing women and people of color…than those of any of his precessors during their first year of their terms”:

So far, nearly half of Obama’s 73 appointments to the federal bench have been women, 25 percent have been African American, 11 percent Asian American, and 10 percent Hispanic. About 30 percent of Obama’s nominees were white males. By contrast, two-thirds of George W. Bush’s nominees were white males.

Obama’s rate of appointing women and people of color is higher than those of any of his predecessors during the first year of their terms.

Unfortunately, Republicans have shown a historically high level of obstruction in blocking Obama’s appointees. While Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan had 91 percent of their judicial appointees confirmed in their first year of office, Obama only had 36 percent of them approved by the U.S. Senate.
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/07/12/obama-higher-rate-women/


Obama tries another moratorium on Gulf Coast deep water oil drilling

July 12, 2010~

"Obama administration took another crack today at imposing a moratorium on deep water oil drilling in the Gulf Coast, saying it remains concerned about safety in the wake of the BP oil spill.

"The president has and continues to believe that we have to be careful with what we're doing, given the uncertainty about what happened 84 days ago," said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, referring to the ongoing Gulf Coast oil spill.

A federal judge struck down a previous moratorium, and an appeals court rejected the administration's request to reinstate it. Gibbs said the new moratorium will address the legal concerns raised by the courts, including new evidence of potential safety problems.

Local business owners had sued the administration over the first 60-day moratorium, saying they were being penalized for BP's problems.

In announcing a new moratorium to last until Nov. 30, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said a statement that "I remain open to modifying the new deep water drilling suspensions based on new information, but industry must raise the bar on its practices and answer fundamental questions about deep water safety, blowout prevention and containment, and oil spill response."

<more>
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/07/obama-to-try-another-moratorium-on-gulf-coast-oil-drilling/1

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FrenchieCat]

8. So you're still looking for his Birth Certificate, hey? Grow the fuck up......

As for your other "Critiques".....

4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq: But has pretty much stuck with the Bush Plan already in place. We are coming out of Iraq in the plan that Obama, not Bush, laid out. You don't have to like it, but it is still happening the way he said it would. You can gripe about it, but it doesn't make what you said so.


7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: but has only spent 1/3 of it so far. Whats up with that?? Perhaps the administration was smart enough to know that they would need some of the funds now....and it appears that they do. So, I'm not so sure you are the smart one in this scenario, since you didn't turn the economy around in way less time than it took to get us into it, this administration did.

9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan: and yet still foreclosures rise! Obama wasn't supposed to be magic. A President can only do so much. The whole financial mess was based on these mortgages, and I'll tell you, the housing market could certainly have gotten worse. But I guess, for some, the unseen is difficult to imagine, and so they react as though it could have never been worse, and instead, they demand that we see a miracle instead, and nothing short will do, meanwhile they sit and criticize. Who has the easier job?

14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House: Sure! By eliminating the middleman and hiring them directly into his inner circle to RUN things. No need to lobby when his staff consists of employees of the companies that would normally be doing the lobbying!! Just a bunch of bullshit pulled out of an anus on this one. Sorry to say that, but you point here stinks, and ain't nothing more than a exaggerated twisted line of bull.

19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending: Okay first of all see #14 then think about the salary. This guy ain't free! You should have voted for Puff the Magic Dragon!

23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care: GREAT! Your private healthcare records online available to ANYONE the US Govt deems fit to view it. Think about the last time you went in for your driver's license . . . Want that person digging around in your health care files? Passports are issued and the information is online. Like you think anyone's information is private? What a joke! People die because of lack of record availability at crucial times. Folks get misdiagnosed or prescribed the cocktail of pills that if the records were electronic, such wouldn't happen. Now, Veterans can go into any VA hospital, and instantly, their records are available so that they can be admitted and treated much faster. But you only see the privacy issue as what's important. How limiting!

28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis: Was this the summit where he was boo'd and ignored and where every suggestion he made led the other G-19 to do the opposite? Seems like you know....so you might want to offer up a link or two, since you are the one making statements without offering jackshit! Why are your words to be taken as true? What have you provided in information that makes you so believable? Anything? Cause I don't see nada in this post!

46. Increased minority access to capital: Riiiiiight by lining the pockets of a few select affluent minority businesses! Time magazine reported that in many cases, stimulus money is bypassing low-income communities and going to more affluent areas where there are fewer minority-owned businesses. I'm looking into this one, because I do have a problem with it. See, when I see something that's not up to snuff, I actually do the research. That way I stay informed, and take action instead of tearing up on the Internet.


49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents: Okay where are his college records? His SAT Scores? His College applications? His birth certificate? I thought you respected privacy? and you gave yourself away with the Birth Certificate swipe.

Grow the fuck up! I've seen the Birth Certificate. Where the Birth Certificate of everyone in Congress. I ain't seen those to date. Nor have I seen Bush's birth certificate for that matter.

[sufrommich]

15. Why shouldn't freepers feel welcome here lately? Other than the

birth certificate nonsense, it's a pretty typical post.:puke:

[akbacchus_BC]

9. clown!! Need I type anything else!! Where you trolls from?

[Spazito]

14. Oh my, do we have a birfer here?

"Okay where are his college records? His SAT Scores? His College applications? His birth certificate?"

It seems so!

:popcorn: so early in the morning!

[akbacchus_BC]

5. Yes, he is keeping his promises, not because the media is not

reporting it, must you assume he is not. Frigging President is trying his best, why don't you go after some of the Dems who are against him in the Senate and House?

What you need to do is to campaign to get those Dems who side with Republicans replaced with real Dems or Liberals who want to see America progress!

[garthranzz]

11. One of us missed something, I think

The point of my post was that Obama IS keeping his promises. The point of my post was that he's done a LOT of little things right, that aren't getting noticed. The point of my post was that even when he couldn't get everything done, even the compromises accomplish a great deal. The point of my post was that a 119-19 record is great by anybody's standards. The point of my post was that if one "schedules" the promises over 4 years - G-d Willing in the second term, the next 4 years, there will be more promises kept!! - he's just about on schedule, if one runs the math on kept, in the works, waiting.

I titled the post as a question to attract some of the naysayers and get them, hopefully, to take a broader perspective. While I find much to constructively criticize about President Obama, I support him strongly.

Maybe I should have titled it "promises to keep" :)

[impik]

6. He is doing what he said he'll do, while facing the world as it is

And the people from the Left who weakened his so much, are going to miss him badly. Not that they'll ever admit it, of course.

[vaberella]

10. Many people on this site don't bother with that site.

I've posted it countless times.

[zipplewrath]

12. This site is regularly referenced around here

I've gone through it before. It is interesting but it is notible that it doesn't mention several of his "promises" that he broke. It also treats all promises with the same priority or importance. And there are some that are listed as "stalled" or whatever that are clearly passed by events and will never be accomplished.

[spoony]

13. Thank goodness, I've been looking for a list for ages

and no one would post one.

[Spazito]

16. I am glad you are now looking at the big picture!

:thumbsup: an open mind is an indication of growth!

[uponit7771]

17. You're facts are wrong!!!

[Spazito]

18. LOL! I learned a new term yesterday...

"factual propaganda" means, from what I can gather, citing facts IS propaganda!

:rofl:

[garthranzz]

19. ?????????

I don't get what you mean. But "You're facts are wrong" makes no sense. "You are facts are wrong."

Are you saying the analysis and conclusions of politifact.com are wrong? (That's what I posted.) How so?

Or was the sarcasm icon missing?

[Dark]

20. Look at the ones he's broken though:

No. 518: Create a public option health plan for a new National Health Insurance Exchange.

No. 517: Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN

No. 515: No family making less than $250,000 will see "any form of tax increase."

o. 313: Allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of a home mortgage

No. 292: Urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws

No. 249: Double funding for afterschool programs

No. 24: End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000




more at link. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/rulings/promise-broken/

on edit: link