Quote Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore View Post
It's actually never been true in our lifetimes (that's pretty old fashioned I guess!), not at the Presidential level, if there was a time it was true, it's not in the last century.

Obviously not everyone here will agree with this, but I think accountability, like responsibility, starts at the individual level and works up. It doesn't come trickling down from some kind of magically formed national consensus. I do try to hold elected officials accountable in that way. You can, too. If enough of us do that then it will have some impact. Until then politicians running for office can, and will, say pretty much anything they think their base wants to hear without any real fear that their words will come back to haunt them if their actions don't live up to the promises. As far as the Presidential level vs. any other level, its as simple as the bigger the office is the bigger the promises have to be.