Obama keeps promises on his first day

By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 5:16 p.m.

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Obama with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office (White House photo)

In his first full day in office, President Obama kept several campaign promises on ethics and fulfilled a well-known pledge on the Iraq war.

His first executive orders followed through on three promises Obama made during the campaign: closing the revolving door on lobbyists in government, banning lobbyist gifts for executive employees, and requiring new hires to affirm that they did not receive their positions based on political influence or contributions.

Obama also met with military commanders in Iraq. "During the discussion, I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq," Obama said in a statement issued after the meeting.

So he's already earned four Promise Kept ratings on our Obameter in a single day.

On the day he was inaugurated, the Obama administration took a major step toward his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center when it directed prosecutors to file a motion seeking to suspend legal proceedings against detainees. So we're moving that one to In the Works.