FIRST 100 DAYS: BROKEN PROMISES

Not Every Word Kept

Updated: January 2, 2011 | 10:28 p.m.
April 29, 2009

Go To First Promise Broken

It's hard to break a promise outright this quickly -- much easier simply to delay. Still, the White House has broken or severely compromised on six of Obama's campaign pledges so far, ranging from the minor (posting bills online five days before signing them) to a major theme of his early campaign (keeping lobbyists out of his administration).

Some of these promises are here because of something the president did, such as issuing a signing statement reserving the right to muzzle government whistleblowers after pledging to increase protections for them. Others are here because of something Obama didn't do, like label the Armenian genocide as such when in Turkey or on Armenian Remembrance Day.

Six broken pledges might not seem like much, but for every one of them, there are almost 25 that haven't seen any significant action. Of the 264 promises being tracked by NationalJournal.com, the administration made no progress on nearly 150 during the president's first 100 days.

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