As some of you may know, Politifact has an amazing Obameter that tracks his campaign promises and how he lives up to them. Recently, they posted a look at his Top Ten.
Of the 10 promises, 1 has been fully kept, 1 has been kept via compromise, 5 are in the works and 3 have had no action taken on them.
Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners: Promise Kept.
Create a tax credit of $500 for workers: Compromise.
Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes: In The Works.
Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq: In The Works.
Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center: In The Works.
Create cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming: In The Works.
Create 5 million “green” jobs: In The Works.
Create a National Health Insurance Exchange: No Action.
Create new financial regulations: No Action.
Reduce oil consumption by 35 percent by 2030: No Action.
A surprising range of the important directives are already “In the works” which must be considered thoroughly impressive. At his two month mark, I don’t think anyone can accuse him for standing idly by.
In an unprecedented diplomatic move, Obama reaches out a sincere hand to the Iranian people and leaders as they celebrate “Nowruz”, their new year. Watch the 3 minute clip below.
As if jumping executives from the roofs of bank and wall street buildings wasn’t enough of a public sidewalk hazard, the House overwhelmingly passed a near total tax on bonuses paid to employees of AIG and other bailout biters. And to really nail the coffin – it’s retroactive.
The faces of Evil according to bank executives.
The House vote sent some employees into a panic about the prospect of, in effect, having to give up money they might already have spent. And it had regulators fearing it could undermine the Treasury’s efforts to stabilize the financial system if banks tried to flee the bailout program or if other firms refused to participate in coming rescue operations to protect their bonuses, some executives said.
Despite its popularity – I haven’t watched this show in years. I’ll be watching it tonight ‘tho.
In a rare move, President Obama will appear on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” this Thursday as part of his larger tour through Southern California. The president seems to be pulling out all the stops to garner support for next year’s federal budget. In addition to campaign-like talk show appearances, the Washington Post reports today that the administration also intends to use the extensive email list compiled over two years during Obama’s presidential run to reach out to the grassroots.
President Obama begins a visit to southern California today where he plans to use a backdrop of job losses and home foreclosures to argue for a budget proposal he says will begin building a new economy.
California supported Obama in last year’s election, and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed the president’s stimulus package, which will bring a state with a double-digit unemployment rate more than $30 billion in federal help.
But an angry populism fed by the financial crisis is rising in the country, including among moderate Republicans, whose support for Obama in this state was important to his success. Here in traditionally conservative Orange County, where he will hold a town hall-style event tonight, his visit is as much a show of solidarity as sales opportunity.
The White House has begun a full frontal assault to get President Obama’s first budget through Congress. During an appearance on Tuesday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Mr. Obama took a swipe at Republican critics of his $3.6 trillion budget and its agenda for health care, energy, taxes and economic recovery.
“If there are members of Congress who object to specific policies and proposals in this budget, then I ask them to be ready and willing to propose constructive, alternative solutions,” Mr. Obama said. “ ‘Just say no’ is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs. It is not an acceptable response to whatever economic policy is proposed by the other party.”
The government on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply.
The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a slaughterhouse in Chino and “downer” cows. The Obama administration finalized the ban Saturday.
“As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply,” President Obama said in his weekly radio and video address.
Obama annouces steps to improve the safety of our nation’s food supply. He also appoints Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Obama on Monday vowed to try to stop the faltering insurance giant American International Group from paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives, as the administration scrambled to avert a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street that could complicate Mr. Obama’s economic recovery agenda.
President Obama, with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner
“In the last six months, A.I.G. has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury,” Mr. Obama said. He added that he had asked Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner “to use that leverage and pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.”
Seeking to ease the credit freeze for small businesses, the Obama administration will inject $15 billion into the industry, buying up securities that are linked to small-business loans.
