Because you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, we now have one year of the Obama presidency by which to judge the accuracy of our impressions of the man and his promises. The media are doing all sorts of analyses, how the ‘hope and change’ slogan has turned out with regard to the economy, domestic and foreign policy, health care reform and the political climate in general.

USAToday did this assessment based on Obama’s inauguration address, which is an objective reference point.

“One year ago, Barack Obama came into office with soaring approval ratings as the nation struggled with two difficult wars and a deepening recession. Americans, it seemed, put great stock in their new leader.

“That was then.

“One year later, the president’s approval ratings have plummeted to 50%, down from 64% shortly after he took office, according to the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

“Obama also has had trouble fulfilling some top campaign promises, such as closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The public is split over a key goal: passing health care legislation. Efforts at the bipartisanship he promised have withered.”

Actually, they’ve been all but non-existent.

In Obama’s inauguration speech, he said:

“Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

USAToday said:

“As a candidate, Obama pledged to have the most open and accessible administration in history…Press secretary Robert Gibbs, however, has been asked in recent weeks why Obama won’t fulfill a campaign promise to allow health care talks to be aired by C-SPAN. He hasn’t responded.”

The lack of bi-partisanshhip and lack of transparency are both troubling.

So is his broken promise - to the Pope in July at the Vatican, and the American people in September before a joint session of Congress - to try to reduce the number of abortions, and to keep federal funding of abortion out of his health care reform.

In fact, the National Journal did a “Promise Audit” on the progress of his campaign promises. Part of that tracked his abortion record.

The writer says: “President Obama’s reputation as an advocate for abortion rights will likely rest on health care reform,” and notes that his presidency “has not been without victories for abortion-rights advocates.”

“It notes how Obama overturned the Mexico City Policy just days after taking over the White House to force taxpayers to fund groups that perform and promote abortions overseas.

“In addition, Obama proposed to reduce funding for abstinence-only sex education programs and his budget called for overturning the ban on abortion funding with government money in the District of Columbia.”

When he took the oath of office, it was with the Bible that belonged to President Abraham Lincoln, who Obama highly admires. If only he understood his mandate to protect liberty and justice for all…nearly as well.