Now, I could spend the time in this article talking about the non-sense of the Teabaggers or the "Just Say No To Everything" mentality of the Republicans, but I must refrain from being blindly loyal. So, on this two year and one day anniversary, it's only proper to check in and see how well Obama has been sticking to his campaign pledges and to see how the Democrats who helped put him in office are holding up.
As of the 21st, according to the Wall Street Journal, the nation is in a bit better spirits with President Obama who is seeing an uptick in his polling numbers. As it stands right now, Obama's Job Approval rating is at 53% approve vs a 42% disapprove.
The Democrats, however, are not fairing as well as their leader. The former ruling party sees it's approval rating at 39% with 60% disapprove. This is by no means a celebration for the Republican Party, though. Even after the GOP's big win this past November the American people still only give the Republicans a 36% approval rating over a 61% disapproval which actually falls short of the Democrats who were just defeated.
It almost seems pointless to ask either party how they would grade the Obama Administration but, just for fun, we'll check them out.
Republican Party = The Obama Administration, according to the GOP, is completely out of touch with the American people. The Recovery Act put us deeper into foreign debt. Wall Street Reform is choking off innovation and business leading our country from a free market to a socialist state. The Middle Class Tax Cuts are ignored by the GOP. Credit Card Reform is government over reach just like the bailout of the auto industry. Clean energy is a war on Big Business. Healthcare Reform is killing jobs.
Democratic Party = Recovery Act brought us away from the brink and invested in the largest infrastructure program since Eisenhower while at the same time investing in education and saving as many as 3.7 million jobs. Wall Street Reform empowered the consumer, created a system of checks and balances for Wall Street, and ended taxpayer-funded bailouts for good. Middle Class Tax Cuts increased under President Obama while extending vital unemployment benefits. Credit Card Reform ended unfair credit card practices while protecting the consumer. Clean Energy technology is moving us towards a country which is no longer dependent on foreign oil. The Auto Industry bailout saved thousands of jobs while allowing the big three to rebuild and become more competitive. And Healthcare Reform now works for the better health of America while reducing the deficit and ending shadowy insurance industry practices.
According to the neutral site politifact.com's Obamameter, President Obama has thus far kept 134 promises, compromised on 41, broken 34, stalled on 74, has 221 in the works, and has yet to touch 2.
According to their top 25:
1. Create a foreclosure prevention fund - Compromised
2. Create a tax credit of $500 for workers - Compromised
3. Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher income - Broken
4. Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq - Kept
5. Train and equip the Afghan army - In the Works
6. End the use of torture - In the Works
7. Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center - Stalled
8. Restrict warrantless wiretaps - Stalled
9. Seek verifiable reductions in nuclear stockpiles - Kept
10. Centralize ethics and lobbying information for voters - Broken
11. Require more disclosure and a waiting period for earmarks - Compromised
12. Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials - Broken
13. Secure the borders - In the Works
14. Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants - Stalled
15. Reform mandatory minimum sentences - Kept
16. Secure nuclear weapons materials in four years - In the Works
17. Strengthen antitrust enforcement - In the Works
18. Create new financial regulations - Kept
19. Sign a "universal" health care bill - Kept
20. Create 5 million "green" jobs - In the Works
21. Reduce oil consumption by 35% by 2030 - In the Works
22. Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming - Broken
23. If you don't have insurance, or don't like the insurance you have, you'll be able to choose a new plan on a health insurance exchange - In the Works
24. Cut the cost of a typical family's health insurance premium by up to $2,500 a year - Stalled
25. Bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda - In the Works
Total:
Kept: 5
Compromised: 3
Broken: 4
Stalled: 4
In the Works: 9
Success Rate of Top 25: 5 out of 25 or 20%
PolitiFact.com has also begun a checklist for the new GOP House with a total of 57 goals to achieve within 2 years. In the short time since the House has been seated (2 weeks) the Republicans have already cut the budget for congress. 9 goals are in the works which are to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, repeal the healthcare bill, publish the text of bills online at least three days before a House vote, require bills to include a clause citing it's authority in the Constitution (political panders to the Teabaggers), develop standards for the type of legislation that will be brought to the floor, freeze government pay and government hiring, approve pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, develop a 'cut as you go' rule, and webcast committee meetings. That leaves 47 other ideas on their agenda.
So the next two years leading up to the 2012 election should be interesting. With President Obama coming off a high from a very successful Congressional lame duck session and many from the GOP beginning to back off their $100 billion cut pledge, it looks as though both sides may try to move to the center in order to get things done. But the Tea Party and the Progressives aren't interested in compromise. They are in it for the win and Republicans desperately want to take back the White House so it's anyone's guess what the tone will be in a year.
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