<div style="color: #666666">Answer added in topic Politics.</div><br /><div id="ld_R8R64d_15762"><div style="font-weight: bold; color: #000000"><a class="user" href="/Erik-Fair">Erik Fair</a><span class="rep">, </span><span id="__w2_C3LhaIG_link"><span class="rep">Software Engineer, Investor, skier.</span></span><div class="hover_menu hidden" style="display: none" id="__w2_C3LhaIG_menu"><div class="hover_menu_nub"></div><div class="menu_contents growl_notification" id="__w2_C3LhaIG_menu_contents"> </div></div></div><br />Despite the apparent misapprehension of the general public, the <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/President-of-the-USA">President of the USA</a></span> is not a King. He cannot rule by decree. He is subject to both the <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/U-S-Constitution">U.S. Constitution</a></span> and the <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/U-S-Congress-2">U.S. Congress</a></span>. Congress writes the law (yeah, POTUS has a role in that, sort of). The President is merely the chief executive, i.e. he primarily executes policy.<br /><br />Ergo, <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/President-Barack-Obama">President Barack Obama</a></span> can&#039;t enact his promises without the consent of Congress. Despite <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/Democratic-Party-U-S">Democratic Party </a></span>majorities in both houses of the Congress in the first two years of his administration, Mr. Obama was not able to get enough of the Congress to agree to his full agenda, and that which he did see come to pass annoyed enough of the electorate to cause a <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/Republican-Party-U-S">Republican Party</a></span> majority in the <span class="qlink_container"><a href="/House-of-Representatives">House of Representatives</a></span> after the 2010 &quot;mid-term&quot; elections.<br /><br />Then, of course, there are the realities of power &amp; governance once one is in office, which clash with idealized goals ... like transparency.<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold" href="http://www.quora.com/Why-cant-the-Obama-administration-properly-keep-to-and-fulfill-certain-important-instances-of-Obamas-campaign-promises">See question on Quora</a></div>