Executive
Fool me once…fulfilled and unfulfilled promises
Politifact.com (a watchdog organization) estimates that Obama made an incredible list of promises during his 2008 campaign, of which he has fulfilled roughly 24%. To be clear, that is 1 out of every 4. Many of us remember President George Herbert Walker Bush’s promise not to raise taxes, a promise that many believe lost him his bid for a second term when he broke it. But the man now occupying the White House seems to be continually able to instill confidence in his presidency – regardless of his record. The misstatements, cover ups, and downright lies would have made Nixon blush. But all things negative continue to slip off the Teflon Man – at least for some. Others aren’t quite as gullible.
Fulfilled and Unfulfilled Promises – A Synoptic Table
Barack H. Obama. Photo: Pete Souza, January 13, 2009
Below are some of the more memorable promises along with their status. When looking at the list, I can’t help but think that it is unfortunate that he has been able to keep any of his promises. To those that still believe he can walk on water, I would remind them of the old Chinese proverb that says: Fool me once…well, you know the rest.
| Obama’s 2008 Campaign Promises | Status of Promises |
| Guantanamo Bay – Candidate Barack Obama repeatedly stated his intentions to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, calling the facility a recruitment tool for al Qaeda | Unfulfilled. Guantanamo Bay remains open. |
| Letting Bush-Era Tax Cuts Expire – Candidate, Barack Obama labeled the Bush tax cuts as benefiting the wealthiest Americans. If elected, he promised to let the Bush-era tax cuts expire. | Unfulfilled. The Bush-era Tax Cuts (thank God) are still in effect. By the way, you can only cut taxes for those who pay them. |
| Foreclosure Prevention Fund – Candidate Barack Obama said he would create a $10 billion fund designed to come to the aid of homeowners at risk of foreclosure. “Too many families are unable to refinance because no one will lend to them, and they are unable to sell their homes because the housing market has fallen.” | Partially fulfilled – not by Barack Obama but by the monies allotted under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), signed by President George W. Bush. |
| Immigration Reform – Obama promised to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. | Unfulfilled – Although his recent Deferred Action Policy that allows illegal aliens who came here before the age of 16, in addition to other minor restrictions, to apply for legal status, it is not a path for citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. If you have any questions on the effectiveness of Obama’s Immigration Policies, read his interview with Univision, America’s leading Spanish television station. (NOTE: Presidential policies can be changed on a whim.) |
| Improve Homeland Security | Questionable – While the Administration will tell you that Mr. Obama has been successful in improving Homeland Security, just ask the families of killed border patrol agents killed since Obama took office in 2008: Jarod Dittman, Luis Aguilar, Trena R. McLaughlin, Robert W. Rosa, Jr., Cruz McGuire, Nathaniel A. Afolayan, Brian A. Terry, Michael V. Gallagher, Mark F. VanDoren, Hector R. Clark, Eduardo Rojas, Jr., Leopoldo Casazos, Jr., James R. Dominguez, and as of 10/2/2012 – Nicolas Ivie. |
| Restricting Former Lobbyists from Serving in Obama Administration – Candidate Obama said, “No political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration,” | Unfulfilled. According to politifact.com, the administration has granted waivers to several former lobbyists, allowing them to serve |
| Iraq War – Candidate Obama said he would work with military commanders on the ground in Iraq and in consultation with the Iraqi government to end the war safely and responsibly within 16 months. | Mostly fulfilled – Mr. Obama promised to bring home all troops by Christmas 2011. Although a great number of troops were brought home, thousands of transitional troops still remain in Iraq. Due to conflicting reports, it is impossible to settle on a firm and reliable number, reports range from 35,000 to 50,000. |
| Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” | Fulfilled – Mr. Obama signed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law on December 22, 2010. |
| Pass a Universal Healthcare Bill | Fulfilled – On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Healthcare Act was signed into Law. |
| Reduce Cost of Healthcare – “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” | Debatable – Some say that healthcare premiums have already increased, others say not. Regardless, the real cost will be passed down in the form of taxes and not necessarily in premiums. |
| Transparency – Candidate Obama promised to have the most transparent administrations in history. | Unfulfilled – “Unfulfilled” does not begin to describe the normal operating procedure of this Administration. The Fast and Furious and the Benghazi debacles are the most glaring examples. Not only did the Administration lie and then claim Executive Privilege in one, it deliberately withheld information and lied about and covered up the circumstances in the other. And…regarding the healthcare bill, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi told us that we would have to pass the Bill to find out what’s in it. That is not transparency in any way, shape, or form. |
| Reaching Across the Isle to work with Republicans in bipartisan efforts | Unfulfilled – Again, “unfulfilled” is too mild a word. In the past while the Administration was pretending to try to work across the aisle, the Democrats literally locked Republican representatives out of negotiations on the healthcare bill. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated: Get over it. We won. |
| Create 7 Million New Jobs with 5 Million being New Green Jobs | Unfulfilled–On Green Jobs – The non-partisan Brookings Institute estimated that there were 2.1 million green jobs in 2003 and 2.7 million in 2009. Jonathan Rothwell of the Institute estimated that about 17% of new jobs of the 211,000 new jobs created in 2009 and 2010 were in clean technology, but he cautioned against attributing these jobs to Obama’s policies.
On Jobs in General – According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), our unemployment rate in December of 2008 rose from 7.2% from 5.8% in September, with 11.1 million unemployed. In 2012 it ranged from 8.1-8.3, with 12.5 million unemployed. This does not include the underemployed or those who gave up looking for jobs. |
Sources:
http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/04/05/brief-look-candidate-obamas-2008-campaign-promises
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/article/2012/sep/04/scorecard-president-obamas-campaign-promises/
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RoseAnn Salanitri is a published author and Acquisition Editor for the New Jersey Family Policy Council. She is a community activist who has founded the Sussex County Tea Party in her home state and launched a recall movement against Senator Robert Menendez. RoseAnn is also the founder of Veritas Christian Academy, as well as co-founder of Creation Science Alive, and a national creation science speaker.
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