In the ramp up to the General Election, it’s a good time to consider what has occurred under President Obama’s first three years and how those actions could be reversed under a Republican. To begin, here’s a trailer from the Obama Campaign’s upcoming documentary, “The Road We’ve Traveled”:

Clearly, President Obama’s biggest accomplishment was preventing the nation from plunging into a new Depression through the passage of the Stimulus Bill and other economic decisions. Passing Universal Health Care was pretty huge as was ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and of course, tracking down Osama Bin Laden.

It’s easy to lose perspective on events when one is in the midst of them but the argument could fairly be made that more profound decisions and actions have taken place under President Obama in the short span of three years, despite a viciously polarized Republican opposition, than under any other President in recent memory. And for the most part, those decisions appear to have paid off for the American People.

The propaganda from the GOP and their poor excuses for Presidential candidates proliferates the airwaves and the nation, pushing “facts” such as President Obama is a failure, he’s damaged the economy and jobs, he’s weak on foreign policy, etc. Though many of these falsehoods can instantly be seen as such by those who are informed or just live in reality, it is helpful to refresh one’s memory of what President Obama has accomplished and what there is to protect from being erased if a Republican was to win the Presidency this November.

So, here’s a partial list of President Obama’s accomplishments, a subset of a much larger list of the campaign promises he made when he ran for the Presidency in 2008 and kept, thanks to Politifact (you can read details of each item and see Politifact’s complete nine page list here):

 

Campaign Promises Kept by President Obama

     

  • Catch/kill bin Laden

  •  

  • Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq

  •  

  • Begin removing combat brigades from Iraq

  •  

  • Sign a “universal” health care bill

  •  

  • End the use of torture

  •  

  • Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions

  •  

  • Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy

  •  

  • Close the “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug plan

  •  

  • Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear

  •  

  • Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits

  •  

  • Reverse restrictions on stem cell research

  •  

  • Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud

  •  

  • Raise fuel economy standards

  •  

  • Support network neutrality on the Internet

  •  

  • Establish a credit card bill of rights

  •  

  • Fully fund the Violence Against Women Act

  •  

  • Extend child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes

  •  

  • Reform No Child Left Behind

  •  

  • Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors

  •  

  • Create new financial regulations

  •  

  • No permanent bases in Iraq

  •  

  • Extend the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes

  •  

  • Create an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes

  •  

  • Increase minority access to capital

  •  

  • Expand loan programs for small businesses

  •  

  • Give tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums

  •  

  • Require large employers to contribute to a national health plan

  •  

  • Require children to have health insurance coverage

  •  

  • In non-competitive markets, force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care

  •  

  • Fully fund the Veterans Administration

  •  

  • Provide $30 billion over 10 years to Israel

  •  

  • Increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps

  •  

  • End the “Stop-loss” program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond their expected commitments

  •  

  • Make U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional on anti-terror efforts

  •  

  • Release presidential records

  •  

  • Reduce subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers

  •  

  • Expand Pell grants for low-income students

  •  

  • Champion the importance of arts education

  •  

  • Strengthen the levees in New Orleans

  •  

  • Rebuild schools in New Orleans

  •  

  • Stop the development of new nuclear weapons

  •  

  • Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees

  •  

  • Invest in all types of alternative energy

  •  

  • Invest in public transportation

Again, this is just a partial list from the nine pages of President Obama’s actions classified under “Promise Kept” at Politifact. To date, there are also three pages of promises that are classified by them as “Compromise” and others they classify as “Promise Broken”.

The above are just some of what’s on the table to keep or lose this November. As tempting as it is to watch the GOP primary and become confident that Obama’s re-election is a lock, there will be powerful and wealthy forces who will be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to reverse some or much of the above by smearing Obama’s record to elect a Republican to the White House.

For those who support many of the items listed above, it will take a good deal of time and energy this year, invested in the campaign to re-elect President Obama, to protect them and pave the way for further accomplishments like these.

It is painful to imagine what a President Romney’s “Promise Kept” list would look like, motivation indeed for working this year for a better America.

55
Leave a Comment

Please Login to comment
13 Comment threads
42 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
14 Comment authors
SueInCaJames Michael BrodielalaluSallyTescribacat Recent comment authors
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
foodchain
Member
foodchain

Ad, and what a partial list it is. The complete list grows every day. Not to YELL OUT LOUD about the economy and (the only candidate standing in 2008 who even thought there was a problem) and the improvement in the jobs market—considering that the GOP fired a whole lot of government employees—the numbers would be even better.

And let’s not even talk about foreign policy with the GOP. They can’t catch a break on finding enough backward people to believe in more war

James Michael Brodie
Member

These are all good, but understand that the “Massawesicks” on the Right will do their best to undermine every bit of it. While we may have differences with some of what this — or any — president has done, we need to remain focused.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Hey JM, long time no see. Good to “see,” you again.

James Michael Brodie
Member

Good to see you too, my friend. Been away trying to grow up. Failing badly… 🙂

What have I missed?

Hopefully, I will get back to writing as well — if you will have me…

foodchain
Member
foodchain

JM the only “failure” is trying to reason with the HP righties. There are some very good folks over there that I miss. Wish they’d hop over; they would fit in so well.

If they have me, they’ll be tickled with you

KillgoreTrout
Member

Glad to have you JM. Fresh perspectives are what makes the Planet, the Planet.

As to what’s been going on, the GOP primary circus has been the main focus of discussion here. What a bunch of misanthropes and nere-do-wells! What bush called “the evil doers!”

James Michael Brodie
Member

Kilgore, man, it seems like the Right is unloading the closet with all of the venom they have stored up. There are times when the things they say and do even surprise me.

My hope is that we are watching the final days of that kind of mindset, and the better “angels” will step up and set us on a new and more positive path.

KillgoreTrout
Member

They really have stored up the venom and now they don’t even try to hide it. Some of the things these cretins say and may actually believe is astounding, and not the good kind of astounding, like a joyful wonder, but an amazement at just how low people can sink in their quests for money and power.

I’m with you all the way, maybe their time IS coming to an end. Then America can get on with being a better and more just country. Civilization can actually be “civil.”

foodchain
Member
foodchain

Well, good Morning JM Brodie! Welcome to PlanetPOV. Good to see you again. It was getting too difficult to find the good guys over at HP. This is all good

James Michael Brodie
Member

Happy to be “home” again. HP is nice, but it has its limits…

SueInCa
Member

Mr Brodie
How spooky to see you here again. Just the other night I was searching on here for a particular article and I ran into one you wrote awhile ago on being pulled over by the police. I was thinking geez I wonder how he is doing. I very seldom go to HP so I never see you there. Good to see you again. Maybe you caught my vibes LOL.

James Michael Brodie
Member

Hey, Sue! I am still around. Glad to see you too, my friend. Every now and then I need to come home to get my head together… 🙂

lalalu
Member
lalalu

It is always nice to see a balanced and positive review of President Obama. It seems so often all we get is the opposite. It is no wonder the Southern Poverty Law Center has seen a dramatic increase in militia groups. The only thing that keeps me from giving up hope completely is realizing there are many people who are not buying the negative feed from MSM.

escribacat
Member

Hey Adlib, Thanks for posting this. Allow me to add a few items that just happened today, sent out by National Wildlife Federation —

* Keystone XL Pipeline: REJECTED!
This amendment would have overturned President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline–bypassing the environmental review process and giving Congress unprecedented authority to hand out a permit for this dangerous project. The pipeline would put endangered whooping cranes and critical resources at risk of toxic oil spills and drive a rapid expansion of habitat-destroying tar sands operations that could put the lives of thousands of wolves and other wildlife at risk.

* RESTORE Act: PASSED!
The RESTORE Act ensures that Clean Water Act penalties collected from those responsible for the BP oil disaster be dedicated to Gulf Coast restoration–a big win for brown pelicans and other wildlife impacted by the spill. This historic amendment also includes significant authorization and funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the National Endowment for the Oceans, both essential programs to protect key wildlife habitat and natural resources.

* Arctic Drilling: REJECTED!
This amendment would have opened new leases for oil and gas drilling in pristine Arctic wilderness–putting ringed seals at needless risk of potential oil disasters, while boosting Big Oil’s billions of dollars in profits. It would have also drastically expanded offshore drilling into vast new areas of our coastline, including the Atlantic Ocean, the California Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico and Bristol Bay in Alaska.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Great list AdLib a sure fire keeper.

The amazing part to me about Obama is how consistent he is with not only his positions but his personality. He has to be the most comfortable man I’ve ever seen in his own skin. Nothing rattles him and considering the hate spewed at him every day from the right wing that’s beyond incredible. Issues are important to me but I think Obama brought back true character to the Democratic Party. I’ve noticed he’s being a great example for Dems and I’m so happy that there is no BS Dems feel the need defend if you know what I mean.

Kalima
Admin

Thanks for putting the list together AdLib, it impresses the heck out of me to think that with all of the stonewalling by some in his own Party, and meaningless obstructionism from the GOPTP, he has accomplished so much in such a short time.

Then I shake my head as I always do when I think of the people who will vote against this man out of fear, ignorance and pure hate, willing to let your country fall into utter shambles as they vote for incompetence, lies and more hate. It boggles the mind, and I feel no sympathy for these misguided people as I might have once, it has now been replaced with contempt that they would pull you all down into the cesspit with them. There is no excuse for blatant stupidity, no excuse at all.

Nirek
Member

One more thing, but I’m not sure it was a promise.
He has restored the USA to a great country again. Also he has made friends respect us more than under “w”.

So Adlib they may not have been promises but they are accomplishments.

Khirad
Member

Please, everyone knows that he’s thrown Israel under the bus and our European allies laugh at us. The GOP tells us so all the time.

Now W? Yeah, the rest of world really respected him. 😆

SallyT
Member

Yes they really respected W so much that they laid rose thorns at his feet and threw shoes at his head. 🙂

KillgoreTrout
Member

AdLib, Tom Hanks is the narrator in this documentary. Judging from the trailer, this doc looks extremely well done. People need to be reminded about just what this president has accomplished, especially when having to deal with a republican Congress that has vowed to see the president fail.

Sabreen60
Member
Sabreen60

Thanks AdLib for the great info and I can’t wait to see the documentary.

Just a word of caution re Politifact: Recently they have been discredited by several people including Rachel Maddow for inaccuracies in the “truth” – to “pants on fire” ratings.

KillgoreTrout
Member

This video was posted here a few months ago and I bookmarked it for just such an occasion as this thread;

jjgravitas
Member
jjgravitas

Let’s hope there are enough people that look at the facts, and ignore the Republican spin, on Obama’s record. We in this country tend to have a very short attention span when it comes to politics. How many of us remember how close we were to economic collapse just before Obama took office? What would have happend if we had allowed General Motors to go Chapter 11, as they nearlt did? Romney has said publicly that we should have let GM collapse, and I wonder how Michigan feels about that?