EditorAfter eight years in office, the US president Barack Obama made 48% of his campaign promises and in 28% of cases he made progress, but with concessions. The remaining 24% were unfulfilled.
On January 20 the mandate of Barack Obama will end the forty – fourth President of the United States. Eight years ago, the then-Illinois senator beat Republican John McCain.
Obama assumed the presidency of the United States (US) in January 2009 and was reelected in 2012. Like most politicians around the world, he made many promises during their campaigns but, this time, the fact-checking site American Politifact recorded and analyzed compliance on the platform Obameter. One day after the end of his term, we take stock of how many promises he made and how many were left on the road.
Politifact collected a total of 533 promises Obama during his campaigns of 2008 and 2012. At the time of publication of the final report , the US president had reached 48% of the total , and n 28% of cases had made progress , but concessions to its original project and the remaining 24% were unfulfilled .
Most of the promises, especially in 2008, were related to US foreign policy. Then the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had much prominence and were one of the main criticisms of the then Republican President George W. Bush.
Obama’s promise of “finish” with these armed conflicts was not fulfilled at all. The US Armed Forces did not completely abandon these territories although the strategy of the United States in the place was reformulated, with less personnel and punctual attacks through drones.
Another promise was unfulfilled was the closure of Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Obama managed to reduce the number of prisoners held in prison after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Of the 242 detainees who were in office when they took office, 59 remain. However, their attempts to close the jail Were blocked by Congress, with resistance from both Republicans and members of their own party.
Another great management flags was the expansion of health care. Better known as Obamacare, the law was enacted in March 2010, after much controversy and debate.
One of his greatest successes was the expansion of coverage of health insurance, reaching 90% of the country, which reached nearly 20 million people who were previously uninsured.
The plan faces several difficulties and not all are linked to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to eliminate him. The promise of lower health spending was not met and implementation of the plan came to the Supreme Court of that country because of the resistance of some states.
Finally, regarding the domestic economy, Obama leaves better economic situation than inherited : the country currently takes 75 consecutive months with job growth. In addition, according to the report Politifact, his government’s response to the 2008 crisis involved the largest number of assistance programs and economic stimulus since the Great Depression.
However, there are also some unfulfilled promises on this plane. Although promised in the 2012 campaign “create a million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016” and “double US exports over the next five years , ” Obama did not achieve either goal. Also it failed to pass a law to end the “tax deductions for companies that send work outside the country , ” a theme that Trump took his campaign.
Photo: WhiteHouse.Gov
Editorial Staff
Mohith Agadi
