The Obameter
Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Other ways to browse the Obameter
PolitiFact has compiled more than 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and is tracking their progress on our Obameter.
We rate their status as Not Yet Rated, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.
The report card at right provides an up-to-the-minute tally of all the promises.
Promises we’ve rated recently
No signing statements to nullify instructions from Congress
"While it is legitimate for a president to issue a signing statement to clarify his understanding of ambiguous provisions of statutes and to explain his view of how he intends to faithfully execute the law, it is a clear abuse of power to use such statements as a license to evade laws that the president does not like or as an end-run around provisions designed to foster accountability. I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law."
Set a standard for utility companies that 80 percent of the nation's electricity comes from clean sources by 2035
"Setting a standard for utility companies to that 80 percent of the nation's electricity comes from clean sources by 2035"
Encourage videotaping of interrogations in capital cases
Will encourage states to adopt a law similar to one he shepherded through the Illinois legislature, "requiring videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases to ensure that prosecutions are fair."
End the war in Afghanistan in 2014
"President Obama responsibly ended the war in Iraq and will end the war in Afghanistan in 2014."
Reduce the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog
"There are currently over 400,000 claims pending within the Veterans Benefits Administration, and over 800,000 claims receipts are expected in 2008 alone. … Obama will hire additional claims workers and convene our nation's leading veterans groups, employees and managers to develop an updated training and management model that will ensure that VA benefit decisions are rated fairly and consistently, and stem from adequate training and accountability for each claims adjudicator."
Make the Veterans Administration a national leader in health reform
"Make the VA a leader of national health care reform. … This includes efforts to improve electronic records interoperability, expand effectiveness research, promote wellness programs, and instill more accountability for performance and quality improvement initiatives."
Support network neutrality on the Internet
"Support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."
Support network neutrality on the Internet
"Support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."
Develop a comprehensive cyber security and response strategy
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden will ensure that his administration develops a Cyber Security Strategy that ensures that we have the ability to identify our attackers and a plan for how to respond that will be measured but effective."
Double American exports over the next five years
"President Obama set a goal to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016 and is working to double American exports over the next five years by promoting U.S. goods and removing trade barriers, expanding access to credit, and promoting strong growth."
Create a new trade enforcement unit that will address China's trade practices
Standing up for American workers and businesses in the global marketplace, taking on China's unfair trade practices through a new trade enforcement unit to level the playing field.
Oppose efforts to privatize Social Security
"And we will keep the promise of Social Security, strengthen it, but we won't turn it over to Wall Street."
Create a new tax credit for companies that bring jobs to the United States from overseas
"Ending tax deductions for companies shipping jobs overseas, and using the saving to create a new tax credit for companies that bring jobs home."
Create a veterans job corps
"I want to create a veterans job corps, so we can put our returning heroes back to work as cops and firefighters in communities that need them."
Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
"As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo."
