Thanks to the miracle of the Internets, we will be able to follow the progress of our new President in fulfilling his campaign promises. Or not. From the same folks who brought you the Truth-O-Meter during the campaign, presenting… the Obameter! The St. Petersburg Times has identified 510 specific campaign pledges made by Barack Obama on his trail to the White House, and they’re watching to see which ones he makes good on, which ones he ducks, which ones stall out, and so on.
Now, obviously he can’t deliver on all of his campaign pledges right away. No one could reasonably expect that. The thing to do here is to watch the website from time to time and see how he’s doing in reality as compared to what he promised us. And not all the promises are intended to be taken too seriously — for instance, #502, listed as “In the works,” is Obama’s promise to “Get his daughters a puppy.” While he did promise that (to the country, at least; whether he made the same promise to his daughters is a different matter) if that’s a promise that winds up getting broken I don’t think anyone’s going to get terribly exercised about it.
And as you’ve read here before, Malia Obama is apparently allergic to dogs so that’s another good reason for the Obamas not to get one — there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Some less than others. I query their taste; according to the St. Pete Times, they’re looking at a Portuguese Water Dog or a Labradoodle. Both are kinda goofy-looking if you ask me — and more to the point, they both look like they’re dogs that will shed quite a bit, which will release dust and dandruff, and likely make the allergic girl sneeze.
But the point here is, someone’s keeping track of promises made, promises kept, and promises broken. Check the Obameter often over the next four years.
