Change is Dead

As a candidate, Barack Obama made it all sound so easy. He would cut taxes for the middle class, reform health care, make government more transparent, protect the rights of gay people, close the Guantanamo Bay detention center … and the list went on.Our PolitiFact Web site is tracking 515 campaign promises on those issues and many others ranging from insulating homes to building more sidewalks. Obama got off to such a fast start that we've rated 32 as Promise Kept and 78 others as In the Works.But now, six months into his presidency, Obama has hit turbulence. Several promises have recently earned a Stalled rating, while others have gotten a Promise Broken.In his first few months in office, Obama kept many promises by tucking them inside the economic stimulus bill, and he fulfilled others with simple presidential muscle. All he had to do was sign an executive order or direct a Cabinet secretary to take action and he had a Promise Kept. As a candidate, Barack Obama made it all sound so easy. He would cut taxes for the middle class, reform health care, make government more transparent, protect the rights of gay people, close the Guantanamo Bay detention center … and the list went on.