President Barack Obama - A Prime Example of Unfulfilled Campaign Promises

In reviewing what is now almost five years of the Barack Obama presidency, it is easy to become skeptical of promises that are made by any individual that seeks elective office as time and time again, they are set aside after the individual is firmly ensconced in office.

Mr. Obama has disappointed those at opposite ends of the political spectrum as well as those in the center.

He led his liberal followers to believe that he would promptly end our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet was convinced by military advisers to act largely as his predecessor would have, continuing our costly and unappreciated presence in these countries for years, if not indefinitely.

President Obama pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within one year of his inauguration, something which was trumpeted and celebrated by Democratic followers.  It did not happen and is not likely to happen before the end of his second term.

He told us that he would go through the federal budget line by line, slashing duplicative and wasteful programs.  When, pray tell, will that happen?  He was not even able to come up with a reasonable manner to slash a paltry $85 billion from annual expenditures of about $4 trillion, forcing the "sequester" upon us, something which he devised, believing that it would be seen as so horrible that it would not occur.  His plan backfired.

Senator Barack Obama railed against repeated increases in the debt limit, accurately characterizing the need to do so as a "failure of leadership".  Now that he is president, I suppose the latest debt ceiling increase he seeks has gone from being a failure in leadership to a critical component of keeping the nation on a sound financial footing, perversely accomplishing this by borrowing more and more.

I have to laugh and shake my head when I witness followers of a political candidate delighting in what he or she promises to do upon election.  To believe that pipe dreams will come to fruition is to conclude not only that the candidate is being honest but to forget that he or she will also have to deal with a recalcitrant, hyperpartisan, special interest-controlled, do-nothing Congress. More often than not, promises made during a presidential campaign are not worth the paper on which they are printed!