In the debate over taxes during 2010, both parties agreed that the tax rates for the middle class should be continued. The tax rates, passed during President George W. Bush's administration, had an end-of-the-year expiration date and were set to go up in 2011. That included child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes.

Yet getting the tax rates continued proved surprisingly contentious. President Barack Obama said Republicans were holding tax cuts for the middle-class "hostage" to get tax rates for higher earners continued. So Obama agreed to continue the current tax rates for everyone, regardless of income. Additionally, Obama won another year of unemployment benefits for workers who qualified, and he won a one-year reduction of Social Security taxes that put 2 percent of pay back into workers' paychecks.

Here, we're rating Obama's promise to extend child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes. The legislation Obama signed on Dec. 17, 2010, continues those tax measures for everyone for another two years. We'll check back on this promise in 2012, but for now we're rating this Promise Kept.