Promises, promises: Is Obama delivering?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has not yet achieved the big campaign promises he’ll be judged on years from now on health care, war, the economy and so much more. It’s early, it’s a colossal load, and Rome wasn’t built in 100 days.

He has delivered, though, on the work ethic he outlined back when his Republican presidential rival challenged him to suspend campaign events and confront the financial crisis. “You know,” he said then, “presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time.”

So he has.

Obama has moved ahead on the towering problem of health coverage, succeeding on the first baby steps, and has taken on big-ticket items that other leaders might have mothballed in perilous times like these.

On foreign policy, energy and the environment, Obama the president is trying to do what Obama the candidate promised. No bait and switch here.

But he’ll be judged on results, not effort.

A look at Obama’s progress on a sampling of his promises:

THE DEFICIT

The promise: “Every dollar I’ve proposed, I’ve proposed an additional cut that it matches.” — Presidential debate, Oct. 15, 2008.

The performance: Obama’s contention that his programs would not deepen the deficit was treated with great skepticism in the campaign, even before the financial crisis was in full fury. Now, the deficit is nearly quadrupling to $1.75 trillion, and few independent analysts believe he can meet his goal of halving the deficit in five years.

DIPLOMACY

The promise: To pursue direct diplomacy with Iran and other hostile governments.

The performance: Obama has offered dialogue to Tehran, made a video appealing to the Iranian people and included Iran in multinational discussions on Afghanistan, while sticking to his insistence that the Iranians not be permitted to develop nuclear weapons.

And Obama — without conditions — crossed a room at the Summit of the Americas to shake the hand of Hugo Chavez, the fiercely anti-American leader of Venezuela, and chat briefly.

ETHICS-OPEN GOVERNMENT

The promise: “When you walk into my administration, you will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to your former employer for two years. And when you leave, you will not be able to lobby the administration throughout the remainder of my term in office.” — Manchester, N.H., June 22, 2007.

The performance: Obama imposed strict rules barring registered lobbyists from working for him for two years after their registrations expire. But once in office he devised a waiver that would allow exceptions for “uniquely qualified individuals,” including Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn, Obama’s No. 2 Pentagon official.

TERRORISM

The promise: “Barack Obama will end the use of torture without exception.” — Obama campaign.

The performance: Obama signed an order outlawing torture, cruelty and degrading treatment of prisoners; released memos detailing brutal interrogation methods used during the Bush administration and has left open the possibility of prosecuting officials who provided the legal framework for using those tactics.