Obama's promises have no bearing on his ability to get any law passed. This is civics 101. The power to write and pass laws rests firmly with the legislative branch, and any law they pass simply needs Obama's signature. If he does not like something, he could broadcast it to Congress, and they can tweak the law before sending it to him to sign.
He can propose an idea that can be written into a bill by a lawmaker, but as far as things such as changing tax policy, strengthening environmental regulations, increasing labor standards, increasing funding for public education, etc., those are things that Congress must do. People get the Congress they vote for. They voted for a crop of right-wing Republicans in 2010, and prior to that, half the Democrats they voted for in 2008 and 2006 were also right-wingers.
People like to blame President Obama for losing 2010 mid-terms, for example, especially after the health insurance bill went south with the deletion of the Public Option, but the fact of the matter is the Senate proved to be more of an obstacle to any meaningful change than Obama did on that score. There weren't enough supporters on the Democratic Party side to sustain a Public Option against a certain Republican filibuster. You can blame folks like Ben and Bill Nelson and Joe Lieberman and Max Baucus for that monumental failure. No wonder Obama never issued an unequivocal statement that said he'd veto any health insurance bill that didn't include a Public Option. He knew he would've been shot in the back by some number of Democrats.
As a side note, the fact that so many right-wingers populate the Senate and House is a testament both to the power of corporate cash on setting policy and corporate propaganda on the electorate that puts these politicians into power.
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