Actually, I think he's turning out all right. My only criticism is that he tries too hard, and is too accomodating to his opponents. I think he really believes his political enemies are like him, and really want what's best for the country and only differ in the means of achieving it. But I think he's finally starting to come around on that.

I also wish he wasn't so eager to be middle-of-the-road, so politically and economically moderate. He ran as a Progressive, he should be one. He was elected as the alternative to the Neocons, he should fulfill that vision enthusiastically, not try to meet them halfway. For them there is no halfway. Up to now, his foreign policy has been excellent, and he has managed to stave off a domestic, even a global, economic disaster, even made modest gains. The economy is not what it was a decade ago, but I don't think it will ever go back to the Clinton Golden Age. Those days are over, forever, no matter who is in charge.

I think Obama's second term, barring unforeseen and unavoidable accidents, like the Israelis nukeing Tehran, or an asteroid impact in the Midwest, will be a triumph. And since the far Right has finally revealed both their program and what they're willing to do to achieve it, their presence in the American political scene will disappear for a generation.

Besides, anybody who can succeed at pissing off the right as much as Barack Hussein Obama has can't be all bad.