His speech included an unwavering commitment to begin the process of reforming America's health-care system this year.
In coming weeks, he must press Mr. Sharon to make good on his commitment to begin dismantling unauthorized outposts.
The action, Earnest says, "does not reflect [the interim government] commitment to begin an inclusive process to make that transition back to democracy".
Last week's raid plainly strengthens Mr. Obama's ability to fulfill his commitment to begin withdrawing troops by July from Afghanistan, where President George W. Bush went to war in the name of destroying Bin Laden's terrorism network.
Even as developments in Afghanistan have made meeting the deadline all the more daunting, Mr. Obama has sent multiple signals to multiple audiences, sticking by his commitment to begin pulling out while insisting that it does not mean simply walking away.
It was not only the result of a slew of early season injuries, but also a commitment to begin again with younger players, so that only Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney kept their shirts.
According to this view, the real test will come in 2011, when Mr. Obama will have to choose whether to follow through on his commitment to begin removing troops from Afghanistan as he presumably starts up his own re-election campaign.
But agreeing on talks about these so-called "new issues" -- even vaguely worded commitment to begin studying their relationship to trade -- was seen as pivotal to give Europeans the political cover they need.
"In reciprocation for Iran's concrete actions, the United States and its P5+1 partners [the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and as the EU] ill today follow through on our commitment to begin to provide the modest relief agreed to with Iran.
But the US Federal Reserve made no commitment to begin a third round of quantitative easing, the process of electronic money creation that has pumped $2tn£1.2tntn) into the US banking system over the past two and a half years.
Yesterday, on "Meet the Press," Hillary Clinton claimed that the Iraqis are changing their ways in part because of the Democratic candidates' "commitment to begin withdrawing our troops in January of 2009".
