State of the Union promises: Obama's mixed record

(AP) 

As President Barack Obama prepares to deliver his annual address to Congress, many goals he outlined in previous State of the Union speeches remain unfulfilled. From reforming immigration laws to meeting monthly with congressional leaders of both parties, the promises fell victim to congressional opposition or faded in face of other priorities as the unruly realities of governing set in.

For Obama, like presidents before him, the State of the Union is an opportunity like no other to state his case on a grand stage, before both houses of Congress and a prime time television audience. But as with other presidents, the aspirations he's laid out have often turned out to be ephemeral, unable to secure the needed congressional consent or requiring follow-through that's not been forthcoming.

As Obama's first term marches to an end amid bitterly divided government and an intense campaign by Republicans to take his job, it's going to be even harder for him to get things done this year. So Tuesday night's speech may focus as much on making an overarching case for his presidency -- and for a second term -- as on the kind of laundry list of initiatives that sometimes characterize State of the Union appeals.

"State of the Union addresses are kind of like the foam rubber rocks they used on Star Trek -- they look solid but aren't," said Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "Presidents will talk about solving some policy problem, and then the bold language of the State of the Union address disappears into the messy reality of governing."

Obama wants to "hang out" on Google+

For Obama, last year's State of the Union offers a case study in that dynamic. Speaking to a newly divided government not long after the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., Obama pleaded for national unity, a grand goal that never came to pass as Washington quickly dissolved into one partisan dispute after another.

Many of the particulars Obama rolled out that night proved just as hard to pull off.

Among the initiatives Obama promoted then that have yet to come to fruition a year later: eliminating subsidies to oil companies; replacing No Child Left Behind with a better education law; making a tuition tax credit permanent; rewriting immigration laws; and reforming the tax system.

The list of what he succeeded in accomplishing is considerably shorter, including: securing congressional approval of a South Korea free trade deal; signing legislation to undo a burdensome tax reporting requirement in his health care law; and establishing a website to show taxpayers where their tax dollars go.

White House press secretary Jay Carney argued Monday that the unfinished business from last year's speech didn't represent a failure.

"I think that any State of the Union address which lays out an agenda has to be ambitious, and if you got through a year and you achieved everything on your list then you probably didn't aim high enough," Carney said.

One of Obama's pledges from last January's speech -- to undertake a reorganization of the federal government -- he got around to rolling out only this month. And other promises are vaguer or more long term, such as declaring a "Sputnik moment" for today's generation and calling for renewed commitments to research and development and clean energy technology; pushing to prepare more educators to teach science, technology and math; promoting high-speed rail and accessible broadband; and seeking greater investments in infrastructure.

"Clearly as time goes on and a presidency matures you get less and less of it and the State of the Union becomes an aspiration for what you want to do as opposed to a road map for what you can accomplish," said Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer. As voters' enthusiasm fades and opposition deepens, Zelizer said, "You lose some of your power and you get closer to the next election and no one wants to work with you."

Last year's address already contained more modest goals than the speech Obama gave to a joint session of Congress a month after his inauguration, which although not technically a State of the Union report had the feel of one. At the time Obama called for overhauling health care and ending the war in Iraq -- promises he kept -- but also for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and imposing caps on carbon pollution -- promises unmet.

Obama this month announced plans to use tax credits to encourage employers to create jobs in the U.S. instead of overseas -- an idea he also raised in his State of the Union speech two years ago. Some of his goals, such as immigration and education reform, have resurfaced in multiple addresses, but still without being accomplished.

And rarely has Obama's rhetoric as president reached as high as the lofty promises of his campaign, when he pledged to change the very way Washington does business and remake politics itself. It's a far cry from those promises of change to the ambition of meeting monthly with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders -- but even that relatively modest goal, from Obama's 2010 State of the Union, went unfulfilled.

[fastdraw2]

Nice headline. And a confirmation of something I've noticed lately and that is CNN's edging more and more to the right. From Wolf Blitzer's not so subtle digs at Obama to Jack Rafferty's outright hostility toward him you guys are becoming the new Fox News. Congratulations.

It really is all about the money isn't it.

[Ruteger700]

Joe Six-Pack will ask Himself on Election day "Am I better off thanI was 4 years ago?" The answer will determine America's future...

[netjunkie1]

The question is not what has my country done for me, but rather what sacrifices must I commit to advance my country.
I think of John F. Kennedy.
The irresponsible governing this country has had over the last 30 years sickens me, with exception to Clinton who dispite his own vices, did leave this nation with a surplus and if had Gore been elected, we wouldn't have a national debt today.
I firmly believe this nation has been betrayed by the corporate system in Wall st., they influenced our politics far too much.
As I see it. The day will come when corporations will face a revolt. This will be a sorry day because our government will turn openly against our people.
There are only our soldiers who sacrifice all for our nation today. They go where corporations send them.

[independent8]

Unfortunately, people with a fourth grade education like Kahumahog and LiberalLemmings don't understand that you have to stimulate the economy in a bad recession with spending lest the economy go into depression. Europe cut spending drastically last year and they are worse off this year than last. So spending money is a bad recession is a GOOD thing or we would all be out of business. The food stamp claim by right wingers is, of course, absurd--food stamps result from a terrible economy brought on by Bush's 2 unfunded wars, an unfunded drug program, unfunded tax cuts, and the greed and fraud in the real estate bubble. It did NOT come from Obama!

[sandy 1027]

Presidents' agendas are directly effected by the dynamics of that point in time.The circumstances, budget constraints, and an adversarial Congress can play huge roles in having the ability to move on proposals.

[take_a_number]

What is the difference between a lie and a broken promise?

[sandy 1027]

The intent.

[hypnotoad72]

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

Politifact.com, like ontheissues.org, puts out everything. By everyone. With zero bias.

Have fun researching...

[texasjustice801]

by Fire-Obama-Now January 23, 2012 4:10 PM EST
I Hope Rep. Jim Wilson (R) of South Carolina
will be present tomorrow.

A true American who spoke what was oo bis
mind and was not afraid to say it on National
Television
=================================
NOTHING any hick from the south means anything.

[independent8]

We are much better off now than we were 3 years ago! Obama has added millions of jobs despite the right wing GOP trying to kill the economy with their absurd ideas of increasing taxes on the middle class, cutting taxes for the wealthy who have not created jobs in 8 years, and threatening to drastically cut spending in a bad recession that would send the economy into a depression. The stock market is up HUGE in the past three years. Bin Laden is DEAD along with many other terrorists. Social Security and Medicare have been saved from the loonies like Paul Ryan and other right wing repubs. Medical pre-conditions have been eliminated. The American auto industry has recovered. Gaddafi has been eliminated without American lives lost and with a minimum of expenditures. ETC., ETC---Listen to Obama tonight and thank goodness the backward thinking, wrong-minded right wing GOP was not in charge the past three years else we would have been in great depression #2.

[holalanemeir]

Some of our President's accomplishments:

The killing of Osama Bin Laden,

Ending the senseless war in Iraq,

He started the new GI bill for returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets,

He didn't send troops to Egypt, Libya, ect.

• Funding new Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicles (2009) * Note: The old Hummers were very vulnerable to roadside explosives and an alarming percentage of our soldiers lost in Iraq were on account of IEDs

• Working to increase pay and benefits for military personnel (2009)

• Improving housing for military personnel (2009)

• Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses (2009)

• Ordered that conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other neglected military hospitals be improved (2009)

• Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military to a post-Cold War, modern fighting force (2009) * Note: Bush announced in 2001 his intention to do this but backed off the reforms after 9/11, which include: new procurement policies; increasing the size of Special Ops units; deploying new technologies; creating new cyber security units; etc.

• Ended the Bush-era practice of awarding "no-bid" defense contracts (2009)

No matter what he has accomplished, the necons will still whine about something.

[DenverBroncofan]

@abcoftruth...whatever "you say" was started under Bush, Obama finished.

[independent8]

We are much better off now than we were 3 years ago! Obama has added millions of jobs despite the right wing GOP trying to kill the economy with their absurd ideas of increasing taxes on the middle class, cutting taxes for the wealthy who have not created jobs in 8 years, and threatening to drastically cut spending in a bad recession that would send the economy into a depression. The stock market is up HUGE in the past three years. Bin Laden is DEAD along with many other terrorists. Social Security and Medicare have been saved from the loonies like Paul Ryan and other right wing repubs. Medical pre-conditions have been eliminated. The American auto industry has recovered. Gaddafi has been eliminated without American lives lost and with a minimum of expenditures. ETC., ETC---Listen to Obama tonight and thank goodness the backward thinking, wrong-minded right wing GOP was not in charge the past three years else we would have been in great depression #2.