Presidents and promises have been comrades since the birth of our nation. Sometimes, the vows have been bold: Lyndon B. Johnson pledged to eliminate poverty in his 1964 State of the Union Address. Obviously, that didn't happen. Other times, the promises have been mostly fulfilled, as when Roosevelt announced his historic New Deal. Throughout his campaign, President Obama made more than 500 promises to our nation, according to PolitiFact, a service from the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times that assesses the truth behind politicians' statements. Almost two years after his inauguration, we check in with PolitiFact to see how the president is doing.
1-Promise: - Foreclosure prevention fund
'The Fund will not help speculators, people who bought vacation homes or people who falsely represented their incomes. PolitiFact rating: Promise Kept
2-Promise: - Repeal the Bush-era tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 (couple) or $200,000 (single). 'At a time when Americans are working harder than ever, we are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we're taxing gains for investors,' Obama said. 'We've lost the balance between work and wealth. PolitiFact rating: In the Works.
3-Promise: - Require health-insurance coverage for all children 'Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require that all children have health-care coverage … [and] expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage by allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents' plans. PolitiFact rating: Promise Kept
4-Promise: - Build an electronic health information system 'Barack Obama and Joe Biden will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health-care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health-information systems, including electronic health records. They will also phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT and commit the necessary federal resources to make it happen.'PolitiFact rating: In the Works
5-Promise: - Assure that the Veterans Administration budget is prepared as 'must-pass' legislation 'Obama will meet early in the budgeting process each year with congressional leaders and the nation's leading Veterans' Service Organizations (VSOs) to ensure the VA budget is always given 'must-pass' status.'PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept
6-Promise: - Begin drawing down combat troops from Iraq 'Barack Obama will work with military commanders on the ground in Iraq and in consultation with the Iraqi government to end the war safely and responsibly within six months.'PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept
7-Promise: - Deploy additional troops to Afghanistan
'As Obama removes our combat brigades from Iraq, he will send at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent. He will also provide our armed forces with the reset capability that they need. He will replace essential equipment, and he will ensure that our men and women in uniform get the care and support they have earned.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept
8-Promise: - Close Guantanamo Bay - 'As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo. He will reject the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the U.S. to circumvent Geneva Conventions in the handling of detainees. He will develop a fair and thorough process based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice to distinguish between those prisoners who should be prosecuted for their crimes, those who can't be prosecuted but who can be held in a manner consistent with the laws of war and those who should be released or transferred to their home countries.' PolitiFact Rating: In the Works
9-Promise:
End the use of torture - 'Barack Obama will end the use torture without exception. He also will eliminate the practice of extreme rendition, where we outsource our torture to other countries.'PolitiFact Rating: In the Works
10-Promise: - New rules barring paid lobbyists from serving as administration 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.'PolitiFact Rating: Promise Broken
11-Promise: - Require full disclosure and a waiting period for budget earmarks
'The Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks, disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.'PolitiFact Rating: Compromise
12-Promise: - Create tough new financial regulations- 'I'll put in place the common-sense regulations and rules of the road I've been calling for since March--rules that will keep our market free, fair and honest; rules that will restore accountability and responsibility in our corporate boardrooms.' PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept
13-Promise: - Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
'Obama and Biden support a system that requires undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.'PolitiFact Rating: Stalled
14-Promise: - Create 5 million new 'green industry' jobs 'Obama and Biden will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be devoted to ensuring that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.'Politifact Rating: In the Works
15-Promise: - Create a cap-and-trade system to control global-warming emissions
'As president, I will set a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming--an 80 percent reduction by 2050 … These reductions will start immediately, and we'll continue to follow the recommendations of top scientists to ensure that our targets are strong enough to meet the challenge we face.'
PolitiFact Rating: Promise Broken
16-Promise: - Increase funding for national parks and forests. 'As president, he and Joe Biden will repair the damage done to our national parks by inadequate funding and emphasize the protection and restoration of our National Forests.'PolitiFact Rating: Promise Kept
Posted By: anita moore
Friday, December 17th 2010 at 6:26PM
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