In his eight years as president, Barack Obama saw the nation through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, a major restructuring of the health insurance industry and a renaissance of civil rights movements. He saw political parties continue to polarize, tensions with Russia heighten and opioid abuse become an epidemic.
In preparing to face the challenges of the presidency, Obama laid out dozens of promises during his two campaigns. Now that he has moved out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we can evaluate: How have the results stacked up?
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government process
Restrict people moving between lobbying and working in the administration.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama's lobbying policies had huge loopholes, allowing numerous people to continue to move between government and lobbying jobs.
health care
Insure more Americans, provide a variety of insurance options accessible through an exchange and end insurance company abuses.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The flagship of Obama's presidency, the Affordable Care Act insured over 20 million people and made coverage more comprehensive for millions more. Republicans have vowed to replace it, but details haven't been finalized.
government process
Convene a bipartisan group of key lawmakers to foster better executive-legislative relations on foreign policy.
Status:
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Where it stands:
While Obama occasionally met with congressional leaders, such a group was never institutionalized, and he pursued military action without congressional input.
government process
End the practice of writing legislation behind closed doors.
Status:
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Where it stands:
There was no significant movement toward this goal.
government process
Close special-interest corporate loopholes.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Congress stymied Obama's efforts to close the most significant corporate loopholes, such as making corporate inversion favorable, though the Treasury Department has made a bit of progress.
government process
Reform government spending by slashing earmarks and conducting a line-by-line review of the federal budget.
Status:
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Where it stands:
In 2011, Congress temporarily banned earmarks with Obama's support, though many lawmakers have used loopholes.
crime
Expand hate crimes statutes.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama signed a bill in 2009 that expanded the definition of hate crimes to include those against LGBT individuals.
economy
Create or save 1 million jobs with a $25 billion investment in infrastructure projects.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The 2009 stimulus included $30 billion for transportation infrastructure. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the stimulus created or saved between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs by 2011, but it did not say how much was attributable to infrastructure spending.
economy
Enact a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners who are making good faith efforts to pay their mortgages.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Many banks voluntarily put a hold on foreclosing borrowers' homes for parts of 2008, 2009 and 2010 in anticipation of action from the Obama administration.
economy
Enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to provide a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to U.S. families.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama never put this tax in his budget plan, much less pushed for its passage. Many say it was abandoned because falling gas prices made it less important.
economy
Establish a credit card bill of rights to protect consumers.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama signed the bill in 2009, protecting consumers from things like arbitrary interest rate increases.
economy
Give the Federal Reserve greater oversight over the financial institutions it has been called on to bail out.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act expanded the role of the Federal Reserve and established the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, increasing financial regulations and oversight.
economy
Implement a permanent tax cut of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families.
Status:
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Where it stands:
As part of the 2009 economic stimulus, individuals got a $400 tax cut and families got $800, a bit shy of Obama's goal.
economy
Raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Although Obama raised the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for some federal contractors, he was unable to make a similar change nationwide.
economy
Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Congress agreed to extend an expansion to the EITC in 2013, but it did not expand it for adults without children.
economy
Reverse George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Status:
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Where it stands:
As part of the 2013 fiscal cliff deal, Obama raised taxes on families making more than $450,000, not $250,000 as he campaigned.
education
Improve education by making math and science a priority.
Status:
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Where it stands:
This promise was vague, but Obama did accomplish large parts of his math and science education agenda — adding curriculum on scientific achievements, increasing the prevalence of science fairs and contests, and giving "Race to the Top" grants to get more diverse students into STEM fields and recruit teachers.
education
Reform “No Child Left Behind.”
Status:
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Where it stands:
In 2015, Obama signed a bipartisan bill that kept NCLB's standardized testing in place, but he gave the power back to states to set standards and help failing schools.
education
Streamline the college financial aid process.
Status:
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Where it stands:
In 2015, Obama issued an executive action that made the federal student aid application easier to complete and available earlier.
energy
Ensure 10 percent of U.S. electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama reached his 2012 goal. The cap-and-trade bill intended to reach the 2025 goal failed, but it's possible the goal will be met without legislative action.
energy
Establish a low national carbon-fuel standard.
Status:
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Where it stands:
This standard, which would regulate how much carbon gasoline can release, was not implemented. A 2009 clean energy bill including the provision failed to pass the Senate.
national security
Ban torture.
Status:
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Where it stands:
An executive order in 2009 banned many methods of torture in interrogations, reinforced by the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. Some allegations of torture persist, however.
national security
Close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama decreased the population of the prison by more than 75 percent, but was unable to transfer all detainees and close the prison.
national security
Deploy at least two additional combat brigades and $1 billion in additional non-military aid to Afghanistan.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama sent two brigades a month after he took office, and even more after that. He increased non-military aid to Afghanistan by more than $1 billion in his 2010 and subsequent budgets.
national security
End the war in Iraq within 16 months.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The last combat troops were taken out of Iraq in August 2010, a few months after Obama's stated deadline, and all troops withdrew in December 2011.
national security
Engage in tough, direct diplomacy to get Iranian leaders abandon the country’s nuclear program and support for terrorism.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The Iran nuclear deal put sharp limits on Iran's nuclear program, and experts say it's unlikely they have a nuclear weapon. However, the State Department maintains that the country sponsors terrorism.
national security
Make a sustained push to support Israel and achieve the goal of two states — a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Israelis and Palestinians have not reached an agreement on the two-state solution and remain in deep conflict.
national security
Secure all loose nuclear materials in the world by 2016.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Obama made significant progress toward this goal until Russia pulled out of a nuclear deactivation agreement with the United States.
national security
Create secure borders.
Status:
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Where it stands:
It's hard to know how many border crossings occur, but Obama instituted more border security resources and fewer people have been apprehended.
economy
Ensure freedom to unionize and fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Despite Obama's advocacy, the EFCA was unable to pass when the 2010 midterm elections gave Republicans control of the House.
science
Double federal funding for basic research over 10 years (2009-2018).
Status:
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Where it stands:
Although some new funding has been given to such fields as cancer research, funding overall remained relatively flat throughout Obama's presidency.
economy
Create 1 million new manufacturing jobs between 2012 and 2016.
Status:
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Where it stands:
BLS data shows the United States gained about 300,000 manufacturing jobs over that time period.
economy
Double U.S. exports over the next five years (2013-2017).
Status:
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Where it stands:
The census found no meaningful change in the volume of U.S. exports over this period so far.
national security
End the war in Afghanistan in 2014.
Status:
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Where it stands:
In July, Obama announced that the war will continue and 8,400 troops will remain in Afghanistan after his presidency ends.
education
Lead the world in college graduates by 2020.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Five countries, led by South Korea, have higher rates of college degrees among 25- to 34-year-olds than the United States. Growth rates indicate the United States can't catch up by 2020.
education
Cut growth of college tuition in half over the next 10 years (2013-2022).
Status:
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Where it stands:
Growth of college tuition "sticker prices" has been cut in half for public schools, but the actual price students are paying — accounting for financial aid — has grown faster.
education
Recruit and prepare 100,000 math and science teachers by 2021.
Status:
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Where it stands:
The administration was more than halfway to this goal at the beginning 2016, making its achievement plausible.
energy
Cut net oil imports in half between 2008 and 2020.
Status:
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Where it stands:
By 2014, net oil imports were below half their 2008 level, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's data.
education
Train 2 million Americans in a community college-business partnership.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Congress declined to create the Community College to Career Fund that Obama proposed, which would have fulfilled this promise.
immigration
Create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Status:
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Where it stands:
Congress didn't pass an immigration reform bill, and the Supreme Court deadlocked over Obama's executive order to prevent deportations, so little progress has been made.
