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We decided to go back and check what President Obama has achieved since last year’s State of the Union address.
In that 2010 speech, Obama made a lot of promises, and he fulfilled many of them -- with high-profile, hard-fought successes like the passage of health-care reform, a jobs bill, the New START treaty with Russia, and the repeal of "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell." He also saw the last combat troops leave Iraq, cut out the middlemen from college loans, championed credit for small businesses, and established protections for consumers.
But he also had some failures, mostly due to bills stalling in the Senate. Those included bills to combat climate change, require more campaign-finance disclosure, and fine banks that were bailed out. And compromising with the GOP on the Bush tax cuts meant that while he kept his promise to extend middle-class tax cuts, he also extended cuts for those making over $250,0000.
The legislative branch wasn’t the only thing beyond his control -- the economy was, too. But given the sluggish economy, he didn’t fare too badly. The president promised last year to add 1.5 million jobs. But he fell a little short, with 1.1 million jobs created in 2010. And although it’s too soon to tell if he’ll meet his goal to double exports in five years, top trade officials said in July that things were looking promising.
Beyond policy, Obama also promised to change the tone in Washington, and to hold monthly meetings with both parties’ leadership, joking, “I know you can’t wait.” Turns out, they could wait -- the meetings were sporadic at best, and, of course, the rhetoric remained heated for most of the year.
Here's a list of the promises Obama kept, broke, or achieved mixed results:
Promises kept (16)
Promise: Pass jobs legislation
What Obama said: "That is why jobs must be our No. 1 focus in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight"
Result: Congress passed at least two jobs bills, one in March and another in August
Promise: Give small businesses credit, using $30 billion paid by banks
What Obama said: "So tonight, I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat"
Result: The Small Business Lending Fund was passed as part of the fall's Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
Promise: Create small business tax credit for more than 1 million businesses
What Obama said: "I'm also proposing a new small business tax credit -- one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages"
Result: Passed as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act in March
Promise: Give tax incentives to businesses investing in new plants and equipment
What Obama said: "... provide a tax incentive for all large businesses and all small businesses to invest in new plants and equipment"
Result: Passed as part of the bipartisan tax-cut deal
Promise: Invest in infrastructure
What Obama said: "Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow"
Result: The two-year Recovery Act did this, as did $50 billion more on Labor Day
Promise: Give consumers protection at banks
What Obama said: "We need to make sure consumers and middle-class families have the information they need to make financial decisions"
Result: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law in July
Promise: Freeze discretionary spending for three years
What Obama said: "Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years"
Result: Spending is currently frozen -- but by a continuing resolution
Promise: Launch a deficit-reduction commission
What Obama said: "That's why I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission..."
Result: By executive order, Obama created this commission, co-chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson
Promise: Invest in science and tech innovation
What Obama said: "Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history... And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy"
Result: The American COMPETES Act of 2010 was reauthorized in May. In July, the Obama administration awarded nearly $2 billion in conditional grants to a pair of solar energy companies that have pledged to build plants in the U.S.
Promise: Build nuclear power plants
What Obama said: "And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country:
Result: In February, Obama supported plans for two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first since the 1970s
Promise: Make college, especially community college and vocational training, more affordable
What Obama said: "That's why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges"
Result: The reconciliation legislation from March cut out the banks to give direct loans; it expanded the Pell Grant program; and it capped loan repayments at 10%
Promise: Pass health-care reform
What Obama said: "Here's what I ask Congress, though: Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people"
Result: The health reform passed in March
Promise: End combat operations in Iraq
What Obama said: "As a candidate, I promised I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as president. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of his August"
Result: The last combat troops left in mid-August, though thousand of U.S. troops (for security and training) remain
Promise: Reduce nuclear stockpile
What Obama said: "To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April's Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring 44 nations together here in Washington, D.C., behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists"
Result: The Senate ratified the New START treaty with Russia in December; the leaders at the summit adopted his goal and created a work plan to be reviewed in 2012
Promise: Invest in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
What Obama said: "That's why we're building a 21st Century VA..."
Result: In April, the president secured the biggest increase in VA spending in 30 years
Promise: Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
What Obama said: "This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are"
Result: In December, Obama signed into law legislation repealing the policy
Mixed (3)
Promise: Add 1.5 million jobs to the U.S. economy
What Obama said: "And we're on track to add another one-and-a-half million jobs to this total by the end of the year"
Result: 1.1 million jobs were added in 2010, according to Bureau on Labor Statistics
Promise: Eliminate capital-gains taxes on small business development
What Obama said: "While we're at it, let's also eliminate all capital-gains taxes on small business investment"
Result: They'll stay at 0% until the end of the year, when they revert to a previous level of 50%
Promise: Double exports in five years
What Obama said: "So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years"
Result: Too soon to tell. Exports increased by 17.7% in the first five months of 2010
Failed (6)
Promise: Continue middle-class tax cuts and end others
What Obama said: "To help working families. we'll extend our middle-class tax cuts. But a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment-fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it"
Result: In December, Obama signed legislation into law extending tax cuts for all income levels, including those who make more than $250,000 per year.
Promise: Propose a fee on banks
What Obama said: "To recover the rest, I've proposed a fee on the biggest banks. Now, I know Wall Street isn't keen on this idea. But if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need"
Result: The "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" never got off the ground
Promise: End tax breaks to companies that outsource
What Obama said: "It is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America"
Result: Bill stalled in the Senate
Promise: Pass a comprehensive energy/climate bill
What Obama said: "And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America"
Result: While the House passed such legislation in 2009, the Senate was unable to advance a bill
Promise: Require more campaign-finance disclosure after the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision
What Obama said: "I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems"
Result: The DISCLOSE Act failed to advance in the Senate
Promise: Change the tone in Washington; hold monthly meetings with both parties' leadership
What Obama said: "So, no, I will not give up on trying to change the tone of our politics... I'd like to begin monthly meetings with both Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can't wait"
Result: Throughout most of 2010, the tone in DC remained harsh. As for the meetings, a few took place, but they were described as "sporadic" and didn't accomplish much
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“Investment”:
Buyout private corporations, fire board elected ceo’s, break contracts with lienholders, shore up union bosses.
Disburse billions in funds for municipal employees, temporarily postponing the inevitable, and attaching strings that reduce state autonomy, 27 states close to bankruptcy.
Disburse billions with almost no accounting, for projects that don’t exist.
Return on investment:
$0
Lesson: the government has no business “investing” in anything.
Expected tonight - a backdoor bailout for states. I though the $200 Billion he gave to the states was supposed to HELP them?
Now we get to bailout the union pensions...while people continue to lose their jobs, their healthcare insurance, and their homes!
The people who elected this "intelligent idiot" are to blame for this mess.
Police and teachers were kept on the job for one more year. Doctors were able to treat medicaid patients without losing money for one more year.
The reckless dumping of our social safety net would have real consequences. It is the failure to acknowledge and plan for these consequences that make we progressives nervous. Liaise Fare is a great idea but we need to deal with real world consequences at the same time.
What are you willing to do for the families that depend on this support? Send them to the local Church is not a sufficient solution.
I notice nothing was said about illegal immigration or closing the borders, indicating the states in the South and central part of our country have to relinquish themselves to invasion and overly burdened budgets for the sake of politicians and votes. Obama is busy gathering support on both sides of the isle to accomplish this feat, especially now that more Latinos have gotten into congress. With more Hispanics gaining control by soft peddling their agenda and under the guise of wanting to close the border, (yet being against SB1070), it's frightening. Their duplicity will destroy our nations sovereignty by the next generation, their intentions all along. Brush up on your Spanish, if something isn't done and soon, your next president will be Felipe Calderon like it or not. As far as Obamas promise of jobs and the 1.1 million tally, nothing is said about the fact that most of that number consisted of part time jobs and census takers who are now unemployed. Do you see the unemployment count anywhere in this article?
Wow 16 promises kept. That is pretty impressive especially with some of the previous Presidents not keeping one of their promises and only 2 years in office. I hope and pray this will show the american people how severely mislead and misinformed they have been by the GOP by the host of untruthful rhetoric. Remember some of these:
He didn't keep his promises, the economy will fail, it will take jobs away,
He is a muslim, he was not born here, he's not working with the republicans,
He is a communist, he will kill your grandmother and on and on and on...........
None of it is true. What does that say about those attacking our President unjustly and using every deceptive tactic to see him fail? It says that they think that their base is very gullible and easily swayed.
The politician's campaign "Promise" has been elevated here. It was foolish of the Democrats to not put everything to a vote when they had the 60 vote super majority in the Senate. Bush would have done it. It is probably better for the nation that the Congress did fully consider these 16 of 22 ideas and created a consensus.
It is as idiotic to not include "campaign" in identifing these promises, as it is to allow the GOP to continue without addressing their ideology's failure in 2007-8.
Obama brings on his own misery, we just help him along. Not saying he hasn't done some good, but "a lot", I'll reserve my judgment on that. So far he lags by the mere fact he takes better of other countries than our own.
With the GOP still denying their economic theroy's responcibility for the 2007-8 crash, it will be a long time before true bipartisanship can be established. The lame duck agreements were predicated on many members avoiding repercussions of their votes by retirement or being voted out. The distances in Congress are still there because the GOP is trapped in an ideology of less market regulation and committed to a get tough on crime policy that has produced the largest incarceration rate in the western world.
Market regulation - - The Corse Theorem (core of GOP ideology and not really a theorem because there has been no proof) has painted the GOP into the corner where they cannot support any government action in markets. The Chinese are kicking our ass with a system that executes bad players as determined by their autocratic leaders (a bad system and truly unjust but still winning in the short term.) Our system has most of the rules set by traders like Goldman-Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Goldman's issuance of the default swaps brought home prices to rock bottom. It is obvious that the mortgage business contributed by leveraging Bush's promise to not let the banks lose money on his "Ownership Iniative." That Ownership Iniative made the bad loan position the "Default Swaps" sought to protect. While Goldman was selling the farm, Morgan Stanley's brokers saw another unregulated market opportunity. They advised clients to push oil prices up by buying oil futures. In previous days, that would not be allowed by regulations preventing double dealing. Morgan Stanley has vast stocks of oil in tank farms. They were let out of this by GOP deregulation and statedthat the brokers weren't part of the company that held the oil. I think that most traders know the holdings of many companies in order to rightly value the stock of those companies. But we are expected to believe that those traitors (opps, I mean traders) did not know the effect that $5 gas would have on their own company.
I would also add that the market and our country have been sapped by our deregulated businesses trough the actions of Enron, Bernie Madoff and others that will remain unknown.
I would like to see any Republican come forth and state what was learned in 2007. If there is no learning, it will come to be an expensive lesson indeed.
I live in Michigan with lowered population and tax base. We have a huge prison population. People will steal rather than let their families starve. I see it every day: TVs and electronics are taken in the middle of the night and people are kidnapped and taken to multiple cash machines to wipe out their bank account. The balance has shifted and there is a stark choice of moving from friends and family, or going to homeless shelters, or a life of crime. It is up to the politicians to open the paths to new opportunities.
I feel that a new sytem of light suburban transport utilizing elevated rails could provide the efficiences to get our national economy moving again. The GOP opposes these new technologies by their corporate chauvinism. GOP ideology = Corse theroy = just saying what the power wants to hear.
Why is it that liberals choose to look at everything but the facts? Obama is doing better now that he is forced to compromise. When he had a super majority in congress he shoved through one bad bill after another, which only made our financial crisis worse. That is also the reason unemployment remains so high. Businesses are set to have their taxes increased on top of having to pay exceedingly high medical insurance expenses due to Obamacare. He has been more concerned with passing his agenda than doing what is best for the country. His greatest failure is acutally his greatest success, which is the failure to pass an energy bill. Cap and trade would have destroyed the only industry that is doing well, which is energy. All of you Bush haters need to realize that Obama has spent more in 2 years than Bush did in EIGHT! Start paying attention to the facts. It should be a little easier now that Olbermann is out of MSNBC, which is nothing more than a liberal mouthpiece to begin with.
GOP has no responsibilty for our economic position? Talk about a blind ideologue, you are it.
Once again ignoring the facts. The GOP of course has some blame. Who said they didn't? Try to stay focused for a change. I know liberals get confused easily. Some Republicans did in fact go along with the liberal agenda, but they are being voted out now. However, the majority of blame can be traced back to Bill Clinton. It was his subprime mortgage scam that made him millions while completely destroying the housing market, which is essential for a stable economy. It is not ideology; it's the facts.
Speak of ignoring the facts. Bush's Ownership Initiative was indeed the straw. There were other deregulationtype laws that contributed (I blame Larry Summers for Clinton mis-steps, who also has not changed his position and takes no blame) but the 13% mortgages of Bush's Initiative were unconsionable in ability to pay back and targeted to those who, to quote the president "worked three jobs."
To ask the question again: What does the GOP see as their fault of the 2007-8 meltdown, and what changes in their ideology are they willing to make because of that?
I have seen none.
Jobs bills, promises kept???? They ain't working. Who writes this trash, Robert Gibbs?
Obama has failed at more than is noted for one big one he has failed to make jobs at all for all he has done is pay company's to hire people even if they don't need them for a while and when the tax payers money runs out the jobs are done and this is not creating jobs.
@ellie-333426:
["... for one big one he has failed to make jobs at all..."]
There is no magic bullet for "making" jobs...although I did see him cross his arms and blink a few times...
Factually, Obama is new in Washington, not the "same ole...". What hasn't changed is the rhetoric and back door deals. Remember, it takes 3 in Washington. House, Senate, and POTUS.
In all this discussion a few Obama promises come to mind that have been left out. What about the promise of a new era of transparency. This administration has been the most secretive and underhanded since the Nixon administration. How about the promise to give newly proposed legislation the light of day, in electronic format and allow time for them to be examined before requiring votes on them. The healthcare bill was put out in hard copy only with a vote almost immediately required. As Pelosi said "We have to vote for it so that we can understand it" Huh?? How about the promise to close Gitmo. Last I heard it was still going strong, not that anyone has come up with a better idea.
who the hell wrote this article?
for instance...
Promise: Build nuclear power plants
What Obama said: "And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country:
Result: In February, Obama supported plans for two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first since the 1970s
did he build new nuclear power plants?
Nope! He "supported" plans for two new knucklehead reactors
MSNBC has gone to hell in a handbasket
you are no longer a credible news source... strictly for entertainment purposes from now on
Obama promise to work to repeal the unfair WEP & GPO laws. So far, he's done nothing!
For the last 25 years, the United States government has been cheating millions of Social Security recipients out of up to 60% of their EARNED benefits due to the unfair WEP and GPO laws. If a person has paid into two separate retirement systems, that person should receive the full benefits of each. The Reagan administration changed the rules after people had been paying into Social Security for decades. How fair is that?
If you have a private retirement system or a 401K, do you honestly believe that your Social Security benefits should be reduced by up to 60% and you be falsely accused of "double dipping"– especially after the Social Security system has been accepting your Earned Contributions for decades? Are we now going to be means tested, and if our government deems we have worked and earned “too much” during the course of our lives, than have our Earned Social Security Benefits reduced or completely eliminated? And how can you trust a government that changes the rules you’ve fairly played by just before you’re ready to retire?
Our government's Social Security rules changes mid-stream have thrown many of our senior citizens into poverty. The average Social Security payment is around $1,100 per month but tens of thousands of retirees effected by Reagan's WEP & GPO laws earn far less than even $1000 per month because their EARNED benefits were unfairly reduced. Try living on that pittance in your "golden years."
Bills to repeal the WEP & GPO laws are never even voted on by our cowardly congress. That's because whenever a bill to repeal these unfair laws they are tied up in committee and never see the light of day. In other words, our congress plays games while seniors are forced into poverty by the hidden taxes known as WEP and GPO.
Our congress people are now whining that they can't live on their $174,000 per year salaries, yet they have no trouble sleeping at nights when America's senior citizens can't buy food or medicine due to our nation's corrupt Social Security laws. We can’t afford to pay seniors the benefits that they actually EARNED but we can afford to give away billions to foreign banks and squander over FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Let's look at the real causes of our nation's debt and quit blaming the Social Security system for our out of control military spending, bank bailouts and foreign aid.
Obama did not do a thing to repeal the unfair WEP & GPO laws. I'm regretting voting for him.
For the last 25 years, the United States government has been cheating millions of Social Security recipients out of up to 60% of their EARNED benefits due to the unfair WEP and GPO laws. If a person has paid into two separate retirement systems, that person should receive the full benefits of each. The Reagan administration changed the rules after people had been paying into Social Security for decades. How fair is that?
If you have a private retirement system or a 401K, do you honestly believe that your Social Security benefits should be reduced by up to 60% and you be falsely accused of "double dipping"– especially after the Social Security system has been accepting your Earned Contributions for decades? Are we now going to be means tested, and if our government deems we have worked and earned “too much” during the course of our lives, than have our Earned Social Security Benefits reduced or completely eliminated? And how can you trust a government that changes the rules you’ve fairly played by just before you’re ready to retire?
Our government's Social Security rules changes mid-stream have thrown many of our senior citizens into poverty. The average Social Security payment is around $1,100 per month but tens of thousands of retirees effected by Reagan's WEP & GPO laws earn far less than even $1000 per month because their EARNED benefits were unfairly reduced. Try living on that pittance in your "golden years."
Bills to repeal the WEP & GPO laws are never even voted on by our cowardly congress. That's because whenever a bill to repeal these unfair laws they are tied up in committee and never see the light of day. In other words, our congress plays games while seniors are forced into poverty by the hidden taxes known as WEP and GPO.
Our congress people are now whining that they can't live on their $174,000 per year salaries, yet they have no trouble sleeping at nights when America's senior citizens can't buy food or medicine due to our nation's corrupt Social Security laws. We can’t afford to pay seniors the benefits that they actually EARNED but we can afford to give away billions to foreign banks and squander over FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Let's look at the real causes of our nation's debt and quit blaming the Social Security system for our out of control military spending, bank bailouts and foreign aid.