Campaign trail promises could burden Obama's presidency

Washington, Nov 6 : The promises made by the 44th US President elect, Barack Obama, while campaign would be hard to keep as he inherits a financial crisis at home and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama faces a diving economy that has traumatized Americans trying to buy a home, pay for college or plan for retirement. And he'll also confront the complexities of trying to extricate US forces from Iraq while facing a resurgent conflict in Afghanistan.

President George W Bush's unpopularity may have helped in Obama's election, but the president-elect will be assuming responsibility for a credit crisis, a banking collapse, an unstable stock market and a lasting recession, FOX News reported.

Now after getting elected it is to be seen that how can Obama deliver on his lengthy list of promises?

"He's made comments on the campaign trail that will have to be reconciled with his policies," said Republican political analyst Dylan Glenn.

Obama has offered tax cuts for working families; affordable and expanded health care and a speedy withdrawal from Iraq intended to save billions of dollars each month.

"His notion about what he will do in Iraq, his notion about what he will do in terms of fiscal policy for this country will have to be translated into real live policy, and that will be a challenge," Glenn said.

Analysts say that Obama will inherit a budget deficit that could hit 1 trillion dollar for the first time in history, potentially crimping any promises of tax cuts or spending on new programs.

Robert Litan, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said he believes economic realities will force Obama to adjust only the timing of his promises.

Political analyst and FOX News contributor Juan Williams said Obama's biggest critics would come from the party's left wing, because he won't be able to fulfill all of his promises.

"Obama realizes if he does anything precipitous with regard to American military forces in a place like Iraq and puts anybody in danger or in some way allows terrorists to make some gains, he will suffer a tremendous backlash that could be political damaging to him to the point that he never recovers," Williams said.

ANI