Will President Obama be held accountable for his promises?
Posted By RichC on January 8, 2010
President Obama, for all the “hope and change” that was promised, seems to have no problem with the lack of openness and transparency being demostrated under his tenure. Obama’s promises of “openness” are empty … or perhaps only apply when concerning 
Republican leaders? For many, President Obama is a bigger disappointment than his predecessors because he was so convincing with his rhetoric of “hope and change.”
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“If a politicians’ lips are moving,
he/she is probably lying.”
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Much is being made of this campaign promise by even those who tend to be friendlier to the liberal health care agenda being “fast tracked” through congress. News and blogs are filled with repeated questions to Whitehouse Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (see video below) regarding the secrecy and backroom deals as it relates to health care reform. Out of touch House Speaker Nanci Pelosi has little problem with private backroom negotiations and commented that “the final health care reform bill behind closed doors according to an agreement by top Democrats,” while the Obama Administration dodges the questions related to the President’s promise of “openness and transparency.” Gibbs stressed that “the president wants to get a bill to his desk as quickly as possible.”
During the campaign, then candidate Obama made at least eight public promises that when he arrived in Washington that negotiations would be open to public scrutiny and even be broadcast on C-SPAN. “The negotiations are obviously being done in secret and the American people really just want to know what they are trying to hide,” said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.
For those old enough to remember another President who once made a promise … “Read my lips, No new taxes” … one wonders if President Obama can survive reneging on his?
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