MY COMPLETELY NOT INFORMED TAKE ON OBAMA.
This is just listing what I've picked up from living day to day, without any major interest in following politics or the details. Everything I said is prone to being entirely wrong, factually incorrect, heresay, and is definitely uniformed. I'm well aware of that fact. Just stating what I think to be the case, as my general interest level and amount of stuff I've heard and retained about it is probably about the same as the average citizen, I'm sure there are other members on the board that follow this with keen interest and can do it way better and more insight.
=He kept the country from going completely bankrupt. Had to pull out insane huge future loans to do, but it kept a depression from happening.
=Started up a medical system that while unpopular, might be essential in the long run. Both a plus and a negative.
+Didn't ban gay marriage and otherwise try to destroy civil liberties of those that are "different".
=Aided in a small war, but only superficially and it was over in a few months.
+Got us out of another war we've been in for 9 years.
+Doesn't look like a complete idiot every time he's on tv, the rest of the world likes him better than the previous guy.
+Killed Bin Laden with his bare hands.
+No 9/11 or major hurricane disasters on his watch
-Failed to close down Guantanomo.
-Balooned the deficit hugely. To the point its in numbers in the trillions that we can't even fathom its so huge.
-Spent more vacation time than Bush did.
-Signed a law that will gives presidents ridiculous power, even if he doesn't choose to use it.
And other stuff, but those are the points I can think of without actually looking anywhere, so that's what I get from general osmosis and the Daily Show, (which should not be my only source of news, and yet, it is.) so thats probably about as informed as most people my age are, however right or wrong that information may be, and whatever else he may or may not have done. It might be unfair to count what he DIDN'T do as a positive (No gay marriage bans) but given the other side is all for that and would have guaranteed pushed for it, well… it should count. I'm not sure what he's done for education at all, but I know that No Child Left Behind was a horrendous poorly conceived abomination that has completely screwed schools up.
He's not done great, but given he started in an incredibly bad spot, and congress has been hostile the entire way. He made a lot of promises he couldn't keep, but thats the reality of the world. Its easy to say "Yes, we should close down this torturing prison", but... there's realities behind it that pure idealism can't deal with. He really should do better without re-election to worry about though.