Obama: Broken Promises

OBAMA: So, you know, I have to tell you when I ran in 2008, when I ran in 2008, I tried to make sure that any promise I made I could keep. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Glen Allen, VA, 7/14/12)

Obama has been a colossal failure as president.

That's the reality.

HERE ARE A FEW PROMISES OBAMA FAILED TO KEEP

One-Term Proposition?

In 2009, Barack Obama promised that if he didn’t have the economy fixed in three years, then his presidency “was going to be a one-term proposition.” Since he took office, the unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for a post-World War 2 record 41 straight months. More than 23 million Americans are either unemployed, underemployed, or have given up looking for work while one in seven Americans received food stamps.

Obama In 2009: “If I Don’t Have This Done In Three Years, Then There’s Going To Be A One-Term Proposition.” OBAMA: “That’s exactly right. And - and, you know, a year from now I think people - are going to see that - we’re starting to make some progress. But there’s still going to be some pain out there. If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” (NBC’s ” The Today Show,” 2/2/09)

Since President Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 473,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Increased From 7.8 Percent To 8.2 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/6/12)

23.4 Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed Or Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/6/12)

45 Million People Received Food Stamps In 2011, A 70 Percent Increase From 2007, And Will Continue Growing Until 2014. “The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that 45 million people in 2011 received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a 70% increase from 2007. It said the number of people receiving the benefits, commonly known as food stamps, would continue growing until 2014.” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

•“The CBO Projected That One In Seven U.S. Residents Received Food Stamps Last Year.” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

Unemployment Below 8 Percent

Obama promised that his $831 billion stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent. But since then, the unemployment rate has remained above 8 percent for a post-World War 2 record amount of time.

The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above Eight Percent For A Record 41 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/6/12)

•Congressional Budget Office: Unemployment Has Remained Above Eight Percent For The Longest Stretch Since The Great Depression. “The rate of unemployment in the United States has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, making the past three years the longest stretch of high unemployment in this country since the Great Depression.”(“Understanding And Responding To Persistently High Unemployment,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/16/12)

Where Are The Green Jobs?

Obama promised his bets on green energy would create thousands of jobs, but instead gave a $535 million taxpayer-funded loan to Solyndra, a company whose largest investor was a major Obama campaign donor. The company went bankrupt and the taxpayers lost all of the money it had given to Solyndra.

“The Green Economy Is Not Proving To Be The Job-Creation Engine That Many Politicians Envisioned.” “In the Bay Area as in much of the country, the green economy is not proving to be the job-creation engine that many politicians envisioned. President Obama once pledged to create five million green jobs over 10 years. Gov. Jerry Brown promised 500,000 clean-technology jobs statewide by the end of the decade. But the results so far suggest such numbers are a pipe dream.” (Aaron Glantz, “Number Of Green Jobs Fails To Live Up To Promises,” The New York Times, 8/18/11)

“Solyndra, A Solar-Panel Maker That Went Bankrupt In August With $535 Million In Federally Backed Loans, Was Riskier Than Many Other Proposals, Industry Executives Say.” (Steven Mufson And Carol D. Leonning, “Some Clean-Energy Firms Found US Loan-Guarantee Program A Bad Bet,” The Washington Post, 9/26/11)

A Total Of 1,861 Workers Were Laid Off By Solyndra As It Went Bankrupt. “Since September 1, 2010 (impact date), an estimate 1,861 workers have been separated from the firm. This total includes an estimated 649 temporary workers as well as leased workers from West Valley, Aerotek, Oxford Global, GES and Lighthouse Management. Most of these separations occurred at the time of the shut-down of the Fremont, CA facility on August 31, 2011. An additional 85 workers are threatened with separation as the company’s operations wind down.” (Employment And Training Administration, “Investigative Report TA-W-80,410; Solyndra LLC,” Department Of Labor, 9/12/11)

Cut The Deficit In Half?

Obama promised he would cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. Because of his reckless spending, he will have amassed record trillion dollar deficits every year in office and increased the national debt by more than $5 trillion.

PROMISE: In February 2009, Obama Said That He Would “Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of [His] First Term In Office.” OBAMA: “Yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.” (President Obama, Address to Joint Session of Congress, 2/24/09)

BROKEN: The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “The Obama Administration Is Officially Breaking Its Promise To Halve The Deficit By The End Of Their First Term.” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: 5 Things To Watch In Obama’s 2013 Budget,” The Washington Post ‘s Wonkbook, 2/13/12)

•Klein: “The 2013 budget envisions a deficit of more than $1 trillion — not halved by any stretch of the imagination.” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: 5 Things To Watch In Obama’s 2013 Budget,” The Washington Post ‘s Wonkbook, 2/13/12)

The New York Times: Obama’s Budget “Will Show Mr. Obama Has Failed To Meet His Pledge To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term.” "But the document’s numbers will show Mr. Obama has failed to meet his pledge to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term, and for Republicans, that will be the bottom line.” (Jackie Calmes, “Obama’s Budget To Focus On Cutting Deficit And Adding Jobs,” The New York Times, 2/10/12)

Unpatriotic Debt?

In 2008, Obama said it was “unpatriotic” to add $4 trillion to the national debt but as president, he has increased the national debt by over $5 trillion to over $15 trillion and is responsible for the “most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president.” No wonder Obama has been called the “undisputed debt king.”

In 2008, Obama Said Adding $4 Trillion To The National Debt Was “Irresponsible” And “Unpatriotic.” OBAMA: “The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents - #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Fargo, ND, 7/3/08)

Obama Is Responsible For “The Most Rapid Increase In The Debt Under Any U.S. President.” “The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama’s watch. The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion. It’s the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased $4 Trillion Under Obama,” CBS News, 8/22/11)

Politifact: Barack Obama Is “The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents.” “So by this measurement — potentially a more important one — Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested.” (“Nancy Pelosi Post Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/11)