OBAMA’S PROMISES SCORECARD
By Lynn Sweet

Chicago Sun-Times
ama/1548444,obama-100-days-promises-kept-broken-04 2909.article
April 29 2009
IL

WASHINGTON — President Obama made hundreds of promises through the
presidential campaign.

Here’s a scorecard on some key pledges:

Promises kept or addressed

Iraq and Afghanistan: Obama said in his Aug. 28 speech accepting the
Democratic nomination, "I will end this war in Iraq responsibly,
and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in
Afghanistan." Ending the Iraq war was a cornerstone of the Obama
campaign. While no troops have left yet, Obama did install a timetable
to withdraw troops from Iraq, while leaving a residual force. He did
order more troops to Afghanistan.

Islamic Outreach: Obama said at various points during the campaign
he would reach out to the Muslim world. He did in a speech in Turkey
on April 6 where he talked about his own family Muslim ties and using
his middle name, Hussein.

Guantanamo: Obama pledged to close the detention facility at
Guantanamo. On Jan. 22, his second day in office, he issued an
executive order ordering Guantanamo closed in a year.

Stem Cells: Obama did rescind orders of former President Bush banning
federal funded embryonic stem cell research.

Energy: "I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable,
renewable sources of energy — wind power and solar power and
the next generation of biofuels — an investment that will lead
to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can’t
be outsourced," Obama said on Aug. 28, before the global economic
meltdown. He’s made a big downpayment on all these items through his
massive $787 billion economic stimulus bill. House passes Obama’s
economic stimulus bill

Mortgage Foreclosures: During the campaign, Obama talked about helping
homeowners with subprime mortgages, before the housing crisis hit. In
February, Obama unveiled plans to help distressed homeowners. Obama
foreclosure rescue plan to allow some refinance options

Credit Cards: Obama in June, 2008, talked about helping consumers deal
with outrageous credit card rates and fees. As Congress is poised to
act, last week Obama hauled credit card company executives to the
White House and called for more consumer protections. Obama’s plan
to reform credit card practices [PDF]

Promises broken or not kept so far Taxes: A great applause line on
the campaign trail was a constantly repeated Obama pledge to abolish
the income tax for seniors making under $50,000. So far, the plan
has not surfaced in any legislative or policy proposal. No proposal
to end taxes for seniors making less than $50,000

NAFTA: Obama said many times during the campaign, if president, he
would ask Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the North American Free
Trade Agreement. But on April 20, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk
said NAFTA could be improved without reopening the pact. Obama to
Clinton: You’re trying to back off NAFTA

Political Hiring: In an executive order issued on Obama’s first day
in office, he agreed "that any hiring or other employment decisions
I make will be based on the candidate’s qualifications, competence,
and experience." It is too soon to tell. However, preference in the
first rounds of hiring have gone to people who worked on the Obama
presidential campaign. Executive order

Bill Signings: Obama promised to post bills for at least five days
before he signed them. He did not do it for his first bill, the Lilly
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Allow 5 days of comment before signing bills

Ethics: Another big applause line during the campaign was his call
to ban corporate lobbyists from working on issues they lobbied on if
hired by the Obama administration. Obama issued an executive order
to this effect. But the order came with loopholes–for waivers and
recusals. Not ‘in my White House’

Armenia Genocide: On this touchy international issue, Obama promised
during the campaign to consider the murders of 1.5 million Armenians
in Turkey more than 86 years ago genocide. Obama declined to do that
on his recent trip to Turkey.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress