Democrats' Quiet Changes Pile Up

[Celsus]

Article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125712507804421903.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Pol icy) in the WSJ:
While President Barack Obama still faces stiff headwinds on a range of major legislation on his agenda, he has been signing into law a slew of smaller initiatives that had gathered dust on the Democratic wish list for years.

Many of the bills had been blocked by Republicans who considered the measures unnecessary expansions of government or too costly. But facing Democratic majorities in Congress, conservatives are picking their battles and in many cases letting the legislation roll through.

Last week, Mr. Obama signed defense-policy legislation that included an unrelated measure widening federal hate-crimes laws to cover sexual orientation and gender identification -- 12 years after it was first introduced. The same legislation also tightened the rules of admissible evidence for military commissions, an issue that consumed Congress in debate in 2007 but received almost no attention this go-round.

Other new measures signed into law since the administration took office, all of which kicked up controversy in past congresses, make it easier for women to sue for equal pay, set aside land in the West from development, give the government the power to regulate tobacco and raise tobacco taxes to expand health insurance for children. Congress and the White House, in the new defense-policy bill, also killed weapons programs that have survived earlier attempts at termination, among them, the F-22 fighter jet, the VH-71 presidential helicopter and the Army's Future Combat System.
How significant have these bills been to Americans? I know a lot of people on the left don't think Obama's done enough so far, but how many think he'll get there at the end of 4 or 8 years?

[sohy]

I don't think these things are getting enough news coverage, not that many Americans even keep up with the news anymore.

I read in an editorial a few weeks ago that he's getting a lot of good things done in the area of education. I think it was presidential initiatives, not legislation, and I don't remember what they were specifically. Some of us read so much news that we can't always keep it all straight.

[Garnet]

Y'all might find this interesting:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

PolitiFact has compiled more than 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter.

We rate their status as No Action, 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.

The Obameter Scorecard
Promise Kept 49
Compromise 14
Promise Broken 7
Stalled 14
In the Works 129
Not yet rated 302

[Celsus]

Y'all might find this interesting:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

PolitiFact has compiled more than 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter.

We rate their status as No Action, 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.

The Obameter Scorecard
Promise Kept 49
Compromise 14
Promise Broken 7
Stalled 14
In the Works 129
Not yet rated 302
How does he compare with Reagan or Clinton on that scale?

[Garnet]

I dunno.

[Notta]

I knew about the F-22 fighter jet cancellation. My brother is an engineer at an aviation facility, and they laid off 350 engineers and machinists and closed an entire plant last month. The plane has been built; but all orders were canceled.

[Celsus]

Well it's funny given how many people are saying Obama has failed to live up to expectations (he clearly has failed to live up to certain expectations, but not all expectations were realistic, nor his fault for the people who held them). There's a slew of one-year-on blogs on Huffington Post, lots are criticising him for not doing enough generally, typically on key issues Republicans are insisting on stonewalling... Some like Arianna (who is a clueless windbag, sorry lefties - only she's got a great website, great because of other people) speak in vague terms about not "preserving the spark." And yet the only ones to come out with an actual scorecard are saying he's mostly done as he said he would.

[Worldtraveller]

I guess I'm so dissappointed in Obama because the most important issues to me were the ones he seems to have either outright broken his campaign promises (government transparency and civil/human rights violations), or is compromising so much that it's almost as bad (financial bailout, DADT, Healthcare).

The things he has done that were promises during the campaign seem somewhat trivial in my view. I understand, though, that others have different priorities.

ETA: Celsus, I checked the scorecard posted, and they don't even have a listing for a lot of the things I would consider more important.

I'm not sure why. There are plenty of quotes to be found where Obama claimed he would 'increase oversight', end some policy, or at least provide a comprehensive review of policies enacted by Shrub.

[RED DAVE]

1 - The troops are still in Iraq, which constitutes the criminal continuation of our criminal invasion.

2 - The troops are still in Aghanistan, which constitutes the criminal continuation of our criminal invasion.

3 - No meaningful healthcare.

RED DAVE

[Celsus]

What realistically do both of you think should have been done on (what you consider) the key issues?

[Worldtraveller]

What realistically do both of you think should have been done on (what you consider) the key issues?
I assume I'm one of the ones this question is meant for.

1) Obama should have his AG and the DoJ review the FISA and other surveillance acts for strict constitutionality. Wherever there is a question, they should always err on the side of civil liberties and not governmental authority.

2) The administration should absolutely open up the courts to all detainees in Gitmo, and stop shipping prisoners overseas to get around court rulings. All detainees should have full access to the evidence against them, just as any other defendant would (or should).

3) The administration should stop using the same 'state secrets' argument to keep information from the public, and from those who are on trial. They should absolutely operate within the limits of the constitution WRT detainees.

More idealistically and less realistically, the administration should open up the records from prior to 2008 to review by an independant prosecutor. Any criminal charges against members of the previous or current administration should be prosecuted fully, even if it means turning them over to an international body for trial.