“I don’t trust Obama”. “He lied to us”. “Why hasn’t he done x, y, and z yet?”. I am getting so tired of the complaining. First, Obama has gotten a lot done in an incredibly short amount of time. Second, what the hell what everyone expecting?
Politicians make campaign promises all the time. This is because people demand that they say what they are going do specifically for them. Though this makes sense to a point, the underlying premise is faulty.
There are several errors in thinking with the campaign promises. One is that a politician has enough power to actually do the things they promise. A good example is how often Mayors speak of improving education. For the most part, Mayors have no say over education. Even when the school system is in receivership they do not have direct control over that area. They can influence, but to make any fast and lasting change, they would need to have power they simply do not have. But yet, this is a consistently something is demanded from the voting public at large.
Another issue is simply that politicians might not be aware of all the facts before they take office. A good example of this was when Bill Clinton took office. During his campaigning he promised many new programs and expansions of others. Once he took office though, he was able to see the full extent of the financial situation; those promises fell to the wayside. It was his intent, but they simply could not be done. Aside from those in that current position, no one else will truly know all the information needed to do that job. To assume that anyone can predict what they will be able to do before knowing fully what they are working with seems silly. We wouldn’t expect a chef, even a world class chef, to set a menu without knowing what ingredients are available.
I don’t expect politicians to necessarily keep their promises, but I do expect them to follow in the direction best suited for myself and others following the similar intent of those promises. To expect more just doesn’t make sense.