Candidates make promises, and officeholders often forget them.
One year ago, a list of promises made by candidate Bill Clinton - in his speeches, in the presidential debates, and most of all, in his 232-page book, Putting People First - was compiled by the Inquirer Washington Bureau.
Has President Clinton delivered? That depends. The promises kept outnumber those broken outright. The jury is out on others, and some await action in Congress.
In voters' minds, not all promises are equal. (And the biggest one - to turn around America's economy - can't be evaluated only a year after his inauguration.) By any objective standard, his first year in office has been marked by some high-profile promises that were broken and some that were compromised - such as reneging on a middle-class tax cut and retreating from lifting the ban on gays in the military.
The standards used to rate the President were:
YES: Clear steps have been taken to fulfill the promise.
NO: Clinton has taken no action or his proposals have fallen short.
PENDING: Congress is considering a Clinton proposal that would fulfill a promise.
ABORTION
* End the gag rule that restricts abortion counseling in federally funded clinics.
YES: By executive order in January.
* Permit federal research using aborted fetal tissue.
* Name abortion-rights supporters to the Supreme Court.
YES: Named Ruth Bader Ginsburg in June.
* Work to enact a Freedom of Choice Act.
NO: He did not lobby for the bill.
* Support testing of RU-486, the French birth-control pill.
AGRICULTURE
* Streamline USDA field offices.
PENDING: Vice President Gore proposed streamlining in September. Congress is considering legislation.
* End taxpayer subsidies for honey producers.
YES: Subsidies were eliminated from the budget.
* Appoint a secretary of agriculture respected by farmers.
YES: Farmers like Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and his hands-on flood help.
* Expand agriculture research and development.
YES: Clinton's 1994 budget, approved by Congress, includes funding for an increase.
AIDS
* Appoint a federal AIDS policy coordinator.
YES: Named Kristine Gebbie in June.
* Lift the ban on travel and immigration to the United States for HIV- infected people.
NO: Clinton signed legislation continuing the ban because it was part of legislation that also advanced other priorities. Aides say he is working to lift it in the future.
* Increase funding for AIDS research, prevention and treatment.
YES: Substantial increases for all three included in the budget.
