THE TELEGRAPH: Less than nine months into his four-year term of office, President Barack Obama's record is already one of abandoned promises, sidelined issues and lack of action.
PolitiFact, a political accountability project run by Florida's St Petersburg Times, has formulated an "Obamameter" gauge that registers seven broken promises, a dozen stalled initiatives and 117 pet projects still "in the works".
Here is the top 10 list of most glaring examples of Mr Obama falling short in key areas he trumpeted during his campaign.
1.PROMISE BROKEN. Mr Obama said he would "not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days". But the "sunlight before signing" promise has already fallen by the wayside with Mr Obama signing three major bills without public scrutiny.
2.PROMISE BROKEN. Mr Obama repeatedly said he would negotiate health care reform in televised sessions broadcast on C-SPAN, the public service network. Instead, he his approach has been no different from his predecessors, holding talks behind closed doors at the White House and Congress.
3.PROMISE BROKEN. Mr Obama solemnly pledged that "no political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years". In practice, Mr Obama has granted several waivers to this rule, allowing lobbyists to serve in the top reaches of his administration. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Monday, October 12, 2009
