Barack Obama Promise Tracking
Friends,
I updated the Barack Obama Promise Tracker over the weekend. A special thanks to username Chekflow for his assistance tracking several Obama promises.
Last month only 1% of Obama’s promises were scored or 11 out of 896 promises. Now 11% of his promises have been tracked with 55 kept and 44 broken. You can download the updated file here. You will need to register to download the file.
Mr. Obama is receiving poor scores for keeping promises in the Ethics and Economy categories. As predicted, the Stimulus Package was merely a promise keeper package in disguise. The voluminous bill continues to produce a bountiful supply of funded campaign promises and more will be revealed as the media continues to access to the bill.
Two other matters I wish to entertain. Response to my earlier plea for assistance in maintaining the document fell flat. I wish to amend my earlier request as I may have over reached. Instead of following an entire category of promises, I would ask that you follow just one promise. Out of 896 promises, just choose one that you are interested in and track it. Research it now, research it once a month, create a Google Alert cross-referencing key words if you choose. The document badly needs links to sources and this includes current promises that have been kept or broken. Simply email me your category and promise by number and your promise will be assigned!
I would like this to be The People’s Document. It is very time consuming for me to track all of these promises. I am not a ‘staff’ of people. My resources are extremely limited. If we can all maintain the document a key aspect of the document is realized: it becomes extremely accurate. If accuracy is successfully achieved then the document becomes relevant. This document, if accurate, will become relevant for the next election cycle.
We can’t rely on the media to report honestly as you know. They are biased and under President Obama’s spell. I had high hopes for the St. Petersburg Times promise tracking website, The Obameter, but it scores compromises for clearly broken promises such as the no hiring of lobbyists (Fox News count is 21 lobbyists hired), a college tax credit of $4,000 for 100 hours of community service was promised (a potential of $2,500 tax credit is earned with no community service obligation is what passes). At what numerical point does either promise lose the compromise status and become broken in their eyes? The hiring of 5, 30, 40 or 53 lobbyists? A $5, $100, or $1,000 college tax credit?
I know most of you listen to Glenn Beck and probably Rush. They are both asking for people like you and I to step up to the plate and have our voices heard. I’m offering you a platform. I’m willing to take ‘point’. Your relevancy is only one email away.
Todd Smith
3/2/09
ideapalooza
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
From an email I received about this blog:
You have to be kidding me! Rush Limbaugh is a joke and a disservice to the public.
In these tumultuous economic times promises will be hard to fulfill. We’re in the mitts of change and thank God. If you haven’t noticed the entire global economy
has crashed since the early campaigning. Sorry you can’t have your tricycle this summer. Start walking with the rest of us.
I’ll stick with Barrack.
Keep building your arsenal to take on those billionaires.
You right wingers give me the willies. Whew!
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
My reply:
Thank you for your comments. I do need Barack Obama supporters like yourself to help me to keep track of Mr. Obama’s promises. I sincerely invite you to do so. I am not a journalist. Unlike most journalists today, I am trying to maintain some objectivety while keeping track of the promises Mr. Obama is both keeping and breaking. Wouldn’t you like ‘your side’ to be represented? If you read my email (and blog) again you’ll notice that I have tried to maintain fairness.
Look at some of the promises I have categorized as broken. If you have evidence or sources that prove otherwise, please send them to me so that I may amend my ’scoring’. The Barack Obama Promise Tracker is not a hit piece, it is meant to be an objective scoring tool that will help inform and educate the public when election time rolls around again.
Todd
March 8th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Todd,
I am quite impressed with the enormity of your undertaking, it’s an admirable attempt to document (objectively) the nearly one-thousand promises of our first post baby boomer president.
I’m equally unimpressed with the response from the Rush hater that responded to your recent posting. Despite being given the tool & opportunity to proclaim his Messiah as being an effective, honest politician instead he takes the opportunity to attack Rush Limbaugh. I doubt he’d be much help anyway as he can’t even properly spell his own candidate’s name (quite typical of a Obama supporter). I hope he eventually realizes the crashing he refers to is a direct result of Obama’s actions.
Thanks for your hard work at this endeavor, I believe it will eventually prove to be an invaluable tool for scoring the performance of our ‘beloved’ president.
Pete
March 8th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Thank you very much. You made me laugh and helped me rebound from the ‘lashing’ I received. I’m beginning to see that type of response more and more. I postulate that the Obamanites are beginning to realize something is terribly wrong with their candidate. They are uncomfortable, they aren’t sure why exactly, and their gut instincts are sowing seeds of doubt. This new frustration leads to demonstrable anger.