We're watching you, Mr. President

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[Lucky9teen]

If life were a Disney movie and the White House and Congress were inhabited by Pinocchios, it's entirely possible that many noses would be dragging on the ground by now.

In this cynical day and age, it's hard to blame voters who believe that when politicians make promises, they're making them with their fingers crossed. And despite the incredible wave of goodwill that President Obama is riding in his first days, the pundits already have their scorecards out.

[Lucky9teen]

Here's a roundup of the folks who have their eye on the president:

- The St. Petersburg Times launched "The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises," part of the paper's PolitiFact project, which promises to "help you find the truth in American politics." The Obamater keeps track of Obama's progress on more than 500 promises he made during his campaign.

- Reporters at the National Journal are keeping score with "The Promise Audit," which breaks down the president's promises in more than 20 categories, complete with the date and location of each promise Obama made.

- The New York Times dissects 17 of Obama's proposals, both domestic and international, with a Magic 8-Ball-esque "outlook" that assesses the viability of each his promises.

As inauguration day approached, pundits and even Obama himself acknowledged that he would have to back down from some of his campaign promises. The New York Times characterized Obama's step back from his pledge to end the war in Iraq as "reality" intruding:

But as he moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making clearer than ever that tens of thousands of American troops will be left behind in Iraq, even if he can make good on his campaign promise to pull all combat forces out within 16 months.

In an interview with ABC just a week before he was inaugurated, Obama conceded that some things just might not get done due to the gloomy economy:

"I want to be realistic here -- not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped."

Mount Holyoke history professor Joseph Ellis explains that politicians going all the way back to Thomas Jefferson have gone back on their campaign promises, but has a two-pronged theory about why they do it, and how it may be unavoidable. From the L.A. Times:

"First, campaigns are inherently exercises in propaganda and posturing, the posing of melodramatic choices usually defined by candidates’ contorted exercises against stereotypical versions of the opposition...Second, the world has a way of generating unforeseen predicaments that require unrehearsed choices."

The global economic recession definitely fits the bill as an "unforeseen predicament" that will "require unrehearsed choices." The sheer enormity of the crisis may force Obama to put some of his promises on hold, perhaps indefinitely.

With tens of thousand of jobs lost just today, and doubts that the stimulus will even work, Americans may be willing to give Obama a pass on his campaign promise to "change standards for determining broadband access." (promise No. 27 on the Obameter).

But make no mistake: The people are watching, Mr. President.

- Lili Ladaga

[Old Sarge]

Americans may be willing to give Obama a pass on his campaign promise

No, The media will simply spike any and all negative reporting about The One (piss be upon him), making it sound like he's keeping ALL his promises.

The Sheep won't know any different, since they no longer think.