Obama's Freshman Year

During the campaign for President of the United States, then Senator Barack Obama said it was going to do a lot of things and made a lot of promises. I came across this Website - http://www.politifact.com/ - tracking Obama's campaign promises to see if the promises are being kept, broken, compromised, stalled, or in the works. There's over 500 promises they are tracking. I want to discuss some of those promises and what Obama has done in 2009, his Freshman Year.

"As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo."

"On his second full day in office [January 22, 2009], President Obama issued an executive order to review the disposition of prisoners being held at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ordered that the detention facility be closed within a year." Technically, President Obama still has 17 days to make good on this comittment, but it probably won't happen. Obama advisors/spokespersons have recently said it could take another year or two. There also continues to be a lot of controversy if closing of Guantanamo Bay is the right thing to do.

"My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government."

That quote is taken directly from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/ Website. President Obama and his administration is currently under fire for transparency due to his promise not being kept for allowing health care negotiations from all sides and being broadcasted on C-SPAN so the public can see what is being done. As the Senate and House reconcile their respective bills Obama and the Democrats have opted to shut everybody out and make their back room deals as usual. These negotiations will not be broadcasted on C-SPAN or be made available to the public for review before vote either. In fact, public review shows the majority of Americans are against the current bill for health care reform, which was displayed all over the country in townhall meetings and Tea Parties for most of 2009.

I can make a firm pledge, under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income taxes, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.

Let's start with the "Cap and Trade" plan that Obama is proposing. During a videotaped interview he did with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board very early in his presidential campaign, January 2008: "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." The Cap and Trade bill is currently stalled and not being debated in either branch of congress, but I gaurantee that it will be back soon...health care reform is at the top of the agenda. Speaking of health care reform, passage of this bill will most likely raise taxes. With the bribe, I mean the deal that Senator Ben Nelson got for the state of Nebraska (i.e. fully fund his state's expanded Medicaid population for the first three years like other states, but the only state to continue after the three years forever and ever) will raise payroll Medicare taxes for every working citizen.

I will promise you this...that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am President, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank. 10/27/07

It is clear that Obama knows nothing about being in a war or managing one for that matter. A total lack of inexperience and for him to promise something like this is foolish. Well, he became president and ending the war was not the first thing he did, rather it was signing an executive order to close Gitmo, which by the way isn't going to happen either as previously discussed. Not only he hasn't ended the war, it seems like it's at the bottom of his "to do" list. Toward the end of August 2009, General McChrystal, that Obama appointed, sent a report to his Commander and Chief recommending a minimum of 40,000 additional troops or there won't be the man power needed to overcome the enemy. It sat on Obama's desk until early December when he finally decided to send 30,000 troops at the same time planning to bring our troops home. Does that make sense to you? Yah, me neither. He's trying to appeal to both sides. Either do all that we can to win the war and end it or bring them home.

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These are just a few items I decided to review. There's actually a lot of promises that OBama has actually checked. Go to http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/ to see the complete list, but the items discussed have been most talked about and at the top of President Obama's agenda. Oh yah, he did get the Nobel Peace Prize for doing absolutely nothing...that's gotta count for something right? Doesn't it? Guys?