The state of Obama's promises

On Jan. 12, President Obama will stride to the podium in the Capitol and give his final State of the Union address. Administration officials say he'll deliver a "non-traditional" speech — not a laundry list of policies but a vision for the country. Still, issues such as improving the economy, closing the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, defeating the Islamic State and gun control are sure to be featured.

Those issues are among scores of others that Obama has raised in his six previous State of the Union speeches and his February 2009 address to a joint session of Congress. So whatever happened to those promises? Were they kept or broken, passed or thwarted? The Washington Examiner pored over those seven speeches and checked on the progress of selected pledges and goals.

Victories are few and far between. Many promises were dead on delivery, while others stalled, victims of the animosity between Obama and congressional Republicans. Some failures could be considered beyond Obama's control, yet critics believe they speak to the chief executive's lack of both leadership or willingness to compromise.