# Did Obama fullfull his promises? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873 "2012-07-11T06:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/21 "2012-07-11T15:26:06Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Ouch, he shouldn’t have said that. > > It’s a little aggravating, though, that the people who prevented him from fixing the economy in the first place are now using his failure to fix the economy against him. Not trying to disagree with that, but there is an inherent assumption in there that we know how to fix the economy. Would that it were that simple. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/22 "2012-07-11T15:29:21Z")
Is the one term thing really a promise? It sounds more like stating political reality. He didn’t say he wouldn’t run again if the economy wasn’t fixed. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/23 "2012-07-11T15:40:17Z")
He promised to post all bills for public viewing for either 3 days or 5 days before signing them into law. [He failed on this one.](http://promises.nationaljournal.com/ethics-reform/post-bills-online-before-signing-them/) Which I find really odd. I mean all he had to do was wait a few days. Certainly not anything he can blame anyone else for. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/24 "2012-07-11T15:40:54Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Is the one term thing really a promise? It sounds more like stating political reality. He didn’t say he wouldn’t run again if the economy wasn’t fixed. You’re right. He promised to lose if he did run. 🙂 You can parse that all day long as to whether it was a promise or a prediction. Either way, you’ll see it in Romney campaign ads. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/25 "2012-07-11T15:52:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Not trying to disagree with that, but there is an inherent assumption in there that we know how to fix the economy. Would that it were that simple. [Paul Krugman does.](http://www.amazon.com/End-This-Depression-Paul-Krugman/dp/0393088774) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/26 "2012-07-11T15:55:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Paul Krugman does.](http://www.amazon.com/End-This-Depression-Paul-Krugman/dp/0393088774) I’m sure he thinks he does. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/27 "2012-07-11T17:21:23Z")
n. promise to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” - Check ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/28 "2012-07-11T17:25:15Z")
Promise to redistribute the wealth: trying like hell, so I give him an A+ for effort. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/29 "2012-07-11T17:43:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You’re right. He promised to lose if he did run. 🙂 > > You can parse that all day long as to whether it was a promise or a prediction. Either way, you’ll see it in Romney campaign ads. Slightly more than “parsing”. There is a significant difference in failing to keep a promise versus being wrong in a prediction. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/30 "2012-07-11T17:54:33Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Slightly more than “parsing”. There is a significant difference in failing to keep a promise versus being wrong in a prediction. Except for the part where he says: _“One nice thing about the situation I find myself in is that I will be held accountable.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/31 "2012-07-11T18:01:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Except for the part where he says: _“One nice thing about the situation I find myself in is that I will be held accountable.”_ That makes it a “promise”? Your right it was a dumb thing to say and that Romney will no doubt get some mileage out of it. Not really sure what it has to do with the thread though. The statement wasn’t a promise by Obama to do or not do anything. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/32 "2012-07-11T18:27:04Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > That makes it a “promise”? Yes. > [@](#): > > Your right it was a dumb thing to say and that Romney will no doubt get some mileage out of it. Not really sure what it has to do with the thread though. The statement wasn’t a promise by Obama to do or not do anything. “If I don’t have this done in three years…” Emphasis added. “Done”. Past tense of “to do”. It’s a prediction about what he is going to do, not some vague prediction about something external to him that may or may not happen. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/33 "2012-07-11T19:53:14Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Promise to redistribute the wealth: trying like hell, so I give him an A+ for effort. 1. When did he promise that? 2. Not even you believe he’s trying. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/34 "2012-07-11T19:58:47Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s a prediction about what he is going to do, not some vague prediction about something external to him that may or may not happen. Meh, don’t really want to spend more time on a semantic argument, but I read it as a prediction of what voters will do depending on whether or not he’s fixed the economy. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/35 "2012-07-11T21:01:17Z")
No one seriously believes that Obama meant he wasn’t going to run again under _any_ circumstances, do they? Other than LBJ, when was the last time an incumbent president opted out of seeking re-election? Barring a death in office here, an assassination there, or pre-FDR presidents who followed the two-term example of George Washington and didn’t run again, I got all the way back to William McKinley before I stopped looking for one. C’mon!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/36 "2012-07-11T21:22:06Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Promise to redistribute the wealth: trying like hell, so I give him an A+ for effort. [citation needed] ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/37 "2012-07-11T21:40:28Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > No one seriously believes that Obama meant he wasn’t going to run again under _any_ circumstances, do they? Other than LBJ, when was the last time an incumbent president opted out of seeking re-election? Barring a death in office here, an assassination there, or pre-FDR presidents who followed the two-term example of George Washington and didn’t run again, I got all the way back to William McKinley before I stopped looking for one. > > C’mon!! 🙂 Like I said, maybe he meant that he’d promise to lose if he ran. 🙂 What he clearly promised, though, is that he’d be “done” in 4 years wrt to the economy. Now, it’s hard to know exactly what it means to be “done”, but does anyone think if he was asked if he was done that he’d say “yes”? Do the American people generally think he’s “done”? Unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/38 "2012-07-11T21:46:18Z")
Turned America into an Islamic Republic that institutes Sharia law at every level of government? No, Obama has failed there. Oh, wait, that wasn’t an Obama campaign promise. That’s what conservatives promised Obama would do. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/39 "2012-07-11T23:33:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Like I said, maybe he meant that he’d promise to lose if he ran. 🙂 > > What he clearly promised, though, is that he’d be “done” in 4 years wrt to the economy. Now, it’s hard to know exactly what it means to be “done”, but does anyone think if he was asked if he was done that he’d say “yes”? Do the American people generally think he’s “done”? Unlikely. For the record, I think he meant that if he wasn’t done, then he wouldn’t be re-elected, hence “one term proposition”, but I don’t think he meant he wouldn’t run again, and I don’t think he “clearly promised” _anything_ specific in that quote. He was careful to be vague, but I agree that it was still a stupid thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873/40 "2012-07-12T00:27:16Z")
People already mentioned the Bin Laden thing, but I just wanted to reiterate it. During one of the debates with McCain, he specifically pledged that if he had actionable intelligence that Osama was in Pakistan, he would use force to remove him. McCain specifically said he would not. And Obama followed through on this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-fullfull-his-promises/627873.md?page=3)