The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises

[dcsmart]

PolitiFact has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter. We rate their status as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.

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



P.S
Campaigned for him. Voted for him. Still supporting him.

[hedgehog]

1. Thank you

:D

[dcsmart]

7. welcome

[Pisces]

2. Looks like a damn good start to me. But I am sure the "I hate Obama crowd" won't

believe these stats or focus on the 9 broken promises instead of the 75 kept promises.

[dcsmart]

3. yep...i think it is also, of course

he has been in office for four years so it is really not that great of a record.......wait...no...four years, so silly of me...a year i mean...no, wait...11 months...LOL
He is rocking...its a hard road...

[silverweb]

4. Bookmarked, K&R.

Thank you!

:kick:

[Pisces]

5. Funny how the fact filled threads have the fewest responses, but the emotional,

hateful threads with zero tangible facts have the most. Just a curious observation.

[dcsmart]

6. I agree

at least my post had pictures...LOL..not just boring numbers and analysis...

[Donnachaidh]

8. this is what the 35th time this link has been posted in the last week?

Jeez -- at least find some FRESH propaganda! :eyes:

[dcsmart]

9. OK

:toast:

[Cha]

14. Too bad you can't deal with the facts and I haven't seen

this link in months..nice to be reminded it exists.

[Renew Deal]

20. It should be posted over and over and over

[Bodhi BloodWave]

32. when did facts become propaganda?

[NJmaverick]

41. It's pretty clear you have as much fondness for the facts

as a vampire has for garlic


There is a reason people are posting the facts so often, they are too often ignored by posters like yourself.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. 9 broken vs. 75 kept.

202 "in the works"
40 "stalled"
19 "compromised"

[dcsmart]

11. all in less than a year

[girl gone mad]

72. Just on the first page I found one rated as "kept"..

which I believe was very definitely not kept. See my post below for some analysis.

[girl gone mad]

12. I have a serious dispute with this one:

Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners

Create a $10 billion fund to help homeowners refinance or sell their homes. "The Fund will not help speculators, people who bought vacation homes or people who falsely represented their incomes."



But, actually...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/30/obama-administration-to-s_n_374256.html

Its signature foreclosure-prevention plan having definitively failed to actually help very many homeowners, the Obama administration today announced its new strategy to get balky lenders to the table: Nagging.

The U.S. government will start to publicly identify those companies that are failing to give troubled homeowners permanent loan modifications, and hound them daily to monitor their progress, the Treasury Department declared.

Top servicers will be required to submit a schedule demonstrating their plans to reach a decision on each loan for which they have documentation and to communicate either a modification agreement or denial letter to those borrowers. Treasury/Fannie Mae "account liaisons" are being assigned to these servicers and will follow up daily as necessary to monitor progress against the servicer's plan. Daily progress will be aggregated by the end of each business day and reported to the Administration.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was launched in March to much fanfare as the administration's main response to a growing foreclosure problem. The government would provide cash incentives to mortgage servicers that reduced monthly payments for distressed homeowners, and that way those who were facing higher payments or lower incomes could stay in their homes.

But the program, which the administration refers to as "a primary focus of financial stability efforts," has been a disaster according to consumer advocates, economists, housing experts and government watchdogs. It does nothing for those who have lost their jobs, because they have too little income to qualify, and could make things even worse in the long run for those homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth, because the plan does not require principal reductions.

Furthermore, only a tiny proportion of the relatively few homeowners in the program have obtained permanent relief. As of Sept. 1, only 1,711 homeowners, or less than two percent of those who received a temporary modification under Obama's plan, ended up with a permanent fix, according to a report by the Elizabeth Warren-led Congressional Oversight Panel.

And yet, the plan has cost taxpayers about $27 billion so far.

Come on! If this is a promise kept, then I'm Snow White. It looks to me for all the world like they really lowered the bar to give him that 'win'. Wasn't the actual promise to help homeowners, not just to create a massive fund that just further enriches bankers?

Help me out here..

[dcsmart]

13. Interesting

you should bring this to the attention of



could be a good counterargument. Sometimes a twist here and a turn there and little dash of semantics changes a conclusion.

[girl gone mad]

19. I'd say it's a work in progress.

Nagging the banks won't be enough, but at least they recognize that the program needs to be mended.

[dcsmart]

22. mending is will happen for awhile.

and you have to set it on the right course. So, we will need a few years to see where the polices go.

[damonm]

15. And yet, Danny Glover sees no difference between Bush and Obama...

Proving his eyes are firmly shut...

[Aramchek]

16. Danny Glover never supported Obama.

Somebody needs to tell him that we don't need to hear anything more from him until the next Lethal Weapon is filmed.

[dcsmart]

18. that Danny Glover

first and second were good, after that he should have stayed home...

[politicasista]

71. He supported Edwards

in 08 and Kucinich in 04.

[dcsmart]

17. Danny Glover from the movies

[NJmaverick]

43. I always look to actors like Glover and Kidder to be my thought leader

:rofl:

sorry, I thought I could get through this with a straight face

[damonm]

73. The truly Scary thing is...

there are far too many here who seem to do so...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7288201

[cutlassmama]

21. K&R. All Bush did was get us into an illegal/immoral war and go on vacation.

Obama has kicked ass and taken names

[jgraz]

23. Unrec'd for the 50,000th posting of the same damn link.

[dcsmart]

24. Sorry

:hi:

[BklnDem75]

25. Facts are like kryptonite to some

If the OP forgets, I'll remember to post this link every time President Obama accomplishes something else on that list.

[dcsmart]

26. maybe not a bad thing...it always good to monitor

how his polices are working out.

[jgraz]

28. Understandable. It's really all you have left.

Any sensible evaluation of Obama's "accomplishments" paints a very different picture. The only way he comes out as looking even marginally effective is with a computerized tracker that gives equal weight to ALL promises, large and small (e.g. "Expand the Senior Corps volunteer program"(kept) counts as much as "Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials" (broken)). Also, I notice they list as "STALLED" many promises that are stalled by Obama and his cabinet officials (e.g. Close loopholes in the corporate tax deductibility of CEO pay).

It's a pathetically weak form of evaluation, but hey -- that's really the only way you can get Obama to seem like he's doing a halfway-decent job.

[BklnDem75]

29. Yep. Facts are all I have left.

Have fun with your fact free outrage.

[jgraz]

31. Yes. You clearly do not have facts + rational analysis.

Which is how most intelligent, adult humans deal with political issues.

[BklnDem75]

35. You're clearly projecting

Your analysis is the furthest thing from rational.

[jgraz]

36. Ooh, someone learned a new word today.

"Projecting", very good.

Check back when you figure out how to use it correctly.

[BklnDem75]

47. No denial?

That's very good! The next step is anger. You're well on your way to acceptance. Keep up the good work!

[jgraz]

49. More pop psychology?

I understand. It's easier than refuting any actual arguments. God forbid you address the substance of anything anyone says.

[BklnDem75]

56. I'll tell you what

You come to me with substance and I'll return it.

When I say substance, I mean the fact filled variety.

[jgraz]

59. While you've been braying, dcsmart and I have been having a lovely, substantive discussion.

It's, like, right down there \/ \/ \/

[dcsmart]

30. what is the measure of a good job

One of the ways would be to evaluate his campaign promises and if they were implemented. I am sure there are other ways. Lets post those also

[jgraz]

34. My point is that the "Obamameter" is a particularly BAD way to evaluate his job performance.

So, he completely botched healthcare, but he sure expanded that Senior Corps volunteer program! :eyes:

[dcsmart]

37. Well...i think you need to take each issue

separately...I do not agree that he botched healthcare...but i do not want to get into a discussion about that. I just think each issue should be evaluated on its own merits.

[jgraz]

42. Which is exactly NOT what politifact is doing

They're lumping all the issues together, ranking them equally and coming up with some cumulative score on how Obama is doing. That's useless.

The actual nature of the broken and kept promises is what gives you a picture of this administration. He kept his promise to escalate Afghanistan but he broke his promise for transparent negotiations.

Also the list of "stalled" promises is a joke.

No. 73: Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
No. 71: Allow imported prescription drugs

Both of these are specific points that the administration negotiated away to Big Pharma. When Dorgan introduce drug reimportation as an amendment, Obama actively worked to kill it. These are both broken promises, and big ones. And the way they were broken is incredibly discouraging to anyone who hoped for even a moderately progressive Obama administration.

[dcsmart]

58. it may be a matter of clarifying their methodology

i understand what you are saying and i am not disagreeing with your evaluation of their analysis, but it does seem like they do break down each promise

PolitiFact has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter. We rate their status as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.
Text

and examine the results for each item and then rate it.

[jgraz]

60. If they don't count drug reimportation as "broken", their methodology sucks

At any rate, this kind of cumulative rating is not the real picture of the Obama presidency. If you want to argue that Obama is doing a good job, have at it -- there are substantive arguments to be made for that view. The Politifact Obameter just isn't one of them.

[BklnDem75]

61. That would be inaccurate

White House aide David Axelrod said President Barack Obama was “committed” to allowing the re-importation of pharmaceutical drugs into the U.S. and would push ahead with efforts to open the market.

During debate on the health-care bill, some senators had unsuccessfully sought to attach language that would allow the re-importation of drugs into the U.S. from Canada and other countries. Obama had endorsed re-importation during the presidential campaign.

“Let me be clear: The president supports re-importation, as he said, safe re-importation of drugs into this country,” Axelrod told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “There’s no reason why Americans should pay a premium for the pharmaceuticals that other people in other countries pay less for.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/12/20/administration-obama-to-push-for-allowing-drug-re-importation/

Your opinion does not equal substance.

[jgraz]

63. Actions vs Words

You'd think you'd have had enough examples of this already from the Obama White House, but here's the latest:

http://www.americablog.com/2009/12/white-house-is-supporting-drug.html

I guess it depends on how credulous you are toward the current administration. Personally, I'm done believing their statements on what they do and don't "support".

[BklnDem75]

64. That. again, is your opinion

So tell me, with such an article out there coming from the Administration, can you at least admit Politifact would have been in error to follow your suggestion? Can you admit that?

[jgraz]

65. So? It's an opinion backed up by actual data

I don't understand the "it's just your opinion" defense. EVERYTHING on this board is someone's opinion. That's the whole reason why politics engenders such fierce debate. The best you can hope for is a well-supported opinion, which mine is (IMHO).

I think Politifact is in error to not use past actions as a prediction of future outcomes. At the very least, they should have another category -- maybe "waffling" or "hedging" -- for promises that are specifically stalled by Obama's actions. On the other hand, I think specifically working against something you've promised counts as a broken promise. In fact, that seems pretty damn obvious.

[BklnDem75]

66. So you're saying facts don't matter? nt

[jgraz]

67. I'm saying your view of "facts" is simplistic and immature.

This isn't a math problem, it's a debate. Calling your arguments "facts" and those of your opponents "opinion" is a transparent way of dismissing contrary ideas without doing any actual work.

Politi"fact"s Obameter is just a collection of their opinions. It is not "fact" any more than my view of Obama as a corporate appeaser is "fact". What's *fact* is things like whether Obama worked for or against the Dorgan amendment. Once you know facts like that, you can use them to support your opinion of whether Obama has kept his promise.

[dcsmart]

69. i agree with you

about the Dorgan amendment example, but if you are arguing from fact, it no longer is opinion, but becomes a legitimate argument. premises and conclusions and all that...LOl

so, if the pres promised X
and X was implemented
then the Pres kept his promise

from there and from other examples like that one can form a rational argument in which to debate the truth or falsehood of a statement.

[jgraz]

70. Again, it's not that simple

The items you listed are all matters of opinion, not fact.

"The president promised X"

What exactly is meant by "promised"? If Obama says, "I prefer the public option," and then refuses to fight for it, is that a broken promise? Some would say no, many would say yes.

"The president implemented X"

Again, your "fact" hinges on the definition of "implemented". Did Obama "implement" healthcare reform? Reasonable people will disagree.

Isn't it obvious that someone less forgiving of Obama could come up with another "Obameter" that is significantly less favorable towards the president? Would it be fair to call that rating a "fact"?

[dcsmart]

62. i think we have the foundation of your argument

the obameter is not a reasonable measure of his accomplishments. Well, i admit i do not have enough information to evaluate how sound a measure this site provides.I look at its reputation as some measure, but of course that has its own problems. The way i read it is that if the Pres promised A and A was accomplished he receives a positive rating, and so on. You presented legitimate flaws in the analysis which opens the floor for further questioning.

[NJmaverick]

44. + infinity

[jgraz]

48. Oh yay. NJmaverick is on the scene.

I was just thinking this thread was getting a bit too mature and intelligent.

Thanks, bud. You're always there when we need you.

[NJmaverick]

50. Your insults can't hide the facts anymore than your unreccs

you have been exposed

[jgraz]

52. See? Instant reduction in thread maturity and intelligence.

How do you do it? It's uncanny.

[NJmaverick]

54. yawn

:boring:

[NJmaverick]

38. Damn those pesky facts for getting in the way of your rants!

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

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

[NJmaverick]

51. You get angry when you have been shown up

just saying

[jgraz]

53. Oh, you've nailed me. We're all so intimidated by your brilliance.

:rofl:

[NJmaverick]

55. Who is "we"? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?

[jgraz]

57. Yes, and he's also laughing at you.

[Phx_Dem]

27. Excellent "Promises Kept" record. That's really gonna piss off the

irrelevant whiner crowd.

:fistbump:

[NJmaverick]

40. They tend to try and bury the truth in a pile of their unreccs

[depakid]

33. What a laugh! Not only for the cherrypicking (and glaring omissions)

but for the fact that there are at least (count 'em) 7 broken promises on the health care legislation alone!

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/21-9

The capacity of Americans to be played for suckers (by both sides) rarely fails to impress.

[NJmaverick]

39. LOL! Amazing the utter crap you are trying to pass off as fact

get real, you are entitled to an opinion, not your own facts

[depakid]

46. Just sayin' if you put together an objective and comprehensive list

you'll find all sorts of deals- statements re: accountability and the return to the rule of law being one of my pet peeves.

[Garam_Masala]

68. When will the congressional HCR discussions be on C-SPAN?