Romney Campaign Press Release - The Obama Record: Unmet Goals and Unfulfilled Promises

"I actually think it will be interesting to listen to the President tonight. What I'd like him to do is report on his promises, but there are forgotten promises and forgotten people. Over the last four years, the President has said that he was going to create jobs for the American people and that hasn't happened. He said he would cut the deficit in half and that hasn't happened. He said that incomes would rise and instead incomes have gone down. And I think this is a time not for him not to start restating new promises, but to report on the promises he made. I think he wants a promises reset. We want a report on the promises he made." – Mitt Romney

President Obama Intends To Outline "Specific Goals" In Tonight's Speech:

The Obama Campaign Says The President Will Lay Out "Specific Goals" Relating To The Economy. "With exactly two months to go until Election Day, President Barack Obama gets ready to give what will most likely be the most important speech of his bid for a second term in the White House. ... 'The president will lay out the economic choice in this election, with a heavy focus on his economic vision,' says an Obama campaign official. 'The speech will include specific goals for America on that front.'" ("Obama To Include Specific Goals In Acceptance Address," CNN.com, 9/6/12)

But President Obama Has Failed To Meet The Goals He's Already Set

President Obama Said The Stimulus Would Keep Unemployment From Rising Above 8% – But It's Never Been Below 8% During His Presidency:

Before Taking Office, President Obama's Advisers Predicted The Stimulus Would Lower Unemployment To 5.5% Today – But It's Remained Above 8% For 42 Straight Months And Counting. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

• President Obama, On His Advisers' Stimulus Predictions: "The American People Can See Exactly What This Plan Will Mean For Their Families, Their Communities, And Our Economy." OBAMA: "I asked my nominee for Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Christina Romer, and the Vice President-Elect's Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. Jared Bernstein, to conduct a rigorous analysis of this plan and come up with projections of how many jobs it will create – and what kind of jobs they will be. Today, I am releasing a report of their findings so that the American people can see exactly what this plan will mean for their families, their communities, and our economy." (President-Elect Barack Obama, Radio Address, 1/10/09)

Under President Obama, The Nation Has Lost 316,000 Jobs. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 9/6/12)

More Than Twenty-Three Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 9/6/12)

"Almost 5.2 Million Americans Have Been Out Of Work For At Least Six Months." (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

President Obama Promised To Lower Health Insurance Premiums By $2,500 – But They've Increased By Nearly That Much:

Candidate Obama, In February 2008: "We're Going To Work With You To Lower Your Premiums By $2,500 Per Family Per Year. ... We Will Do It By The End Of My First Term As President Of The United States Of America." OBAMA: "If you are ready for change, then we can stop talking about the outrage of 47 million people without health insurance and start doing something about it. ... If you've got health insurance, we're going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year. And we will not wait 20 years from now to do it or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of America." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Columbus, OH, 2/27/08)

Family Health Care Premiums Have Increased $2,393 During President Obama's First Three Years In Office. Average annual family premiums have increased from $12,680 in 2008 to $15,073 in 2011. ("Employer Health Benefits, 2011 Annual Survey, Exhibit 1.11" Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011)

Obamacare Has Made Health Care Even "Less Affordable" And Has Caused "Insurance Premiums To Rise" Even Higher. "At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year's premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made – that the health care law would 'lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.'" (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," Factcheck.org, 1/4/12)

President Obama Pledged To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term – But, For The Fourth Year In A Row, The Deficit Will Exceed $1 Trillion:

President Obama, In February 2009: "Today I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office." OBAMA: "[T]oday I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected. But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay – and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control." (President Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 2/23/09)

"The Federal Budget Deficit For Fiscal Year 2012 ... Will Total $1.1 Trillion ... Marking The Fourth Year In A Row With A Deficit Of More Than $1 Trillion." "The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2012 (which ends on September 30) will total $1.1 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, marking the fourth year in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion." (Congressional Budget Office, 8/22/12)

President Obama Promised To "Provide Economic Security" For Middle-Class Families – But Incomes Have Fallen Across The Board:

In 2008, Candidate Obama Promised To "Provide Economic Security For Families Who've Been Dealing With Skyrocketing Costs And Stagnant Wages For Years." OBAMA: "The second step in my agenda is to help provide economic security for families who've been dealing with skyrocketing costs and stagnant wages for years." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, St. Louis, MO, 7/7/08)

Since President Obama Took Office, Median Household Income Has Declined By Over $4,000. "In January 2009, the month President Obama entered the Oval Office and shortly before he signed his stimulus spending bill, median household income was $54,983. By June 2012, it had tumbled to $50,964, adjusted for inflation. ... That's $4,019 in lost real income, a little less than a month's income every year." (Editorial, "Negative $4019," The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)

"Almost Every Group Is Worse Off Than It Was Three Years Ago, And Some Groups Had Very Large Declines In Income." "'Almost every group is worse off than it was three years ago, and some groups had very large declines in income,' Green, who previously directed work on the Census Bureau's income and poverty statistics program, said in a phone interview today. 'We're in an unprecedented period of economic stagnation.'" (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

President Obama Once Called Adding To The National Debt "Unpatriotic" – But He's Been Responsible For "The Most Rapid Increase In Debt" In History:

In 2008, Candidate Obama Claimed It Was "Unpatriotic" And "Irresponsible" To Add $4 Trillion To The National Debt. OBAMA: "The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents - #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back -- $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That's irresponsible. It's unpatriotic." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Fargo, ND, 7/3/08)

This Week, The National Debt Hit $16 Trillion – "A New Record." "The gross debt of the United States has reached $16 trillion, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday on the first day of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. The Daily Treasury Statement puts the debt at $16.016 trillion, a new record." (Erik Wasson, "National Debt Reaches $16 Trillion As Dems Begin Their Convention," The Hill, 9/4/12)

President Obama Is Responsible For "The Most Rapid Increase In The Debt Under Any U.S. President." "The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch. The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion. It's the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president." (Mark Knoller, "National Debt Has Increased $4 Trillion Under Obama," CBS News, 8/22/11)

Despite All This, President Obama Is Telling Americans They're "Absolutely Better Off" Under His Leadership

President Obama: "We Are Absolutely Better Off Than We Were When I Was Sworn In..." "'Are we better off than we were four years ago?' I asked. The president responded quickly. 'We are absolutely better off than we were when I was sworn in and we were losing 800 thousand jobs in a month,' he said." (Ryan Nobles, "NBC12 Exclusive: Obama Defends Record In One On One Interview," NBC 12, 9/5/12)