The past four years have brought both struggle and success. Obama entered the Oval Office during a financial crisis, and it hasn't been easy since. On the one hand, recovery is under way and jobs are being generated. Also, the banking sector has been "brought into line" under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. But, on the other hand, critics argue that not enough has been done. Jobs have not been created fast enough, and they have come at the expense of taxpayers, they say.
A Gallup poll in March found that 50 per cent of Americans think Obama's first term was a failure.
Obama's supporters, however, celebrate his successes: supporting gay marriage and abortion, withdrawing troops from Iraq, and introducing health reforms.
Now Obama has won a second term, and Democrats are overjoyed. The general response from Republicans, and Romney especially, is that the country can no longer "risk partisan bickering". One would hope that, in the next four years, both parties can move forward by enacting true change, instead of creating conflict in the face of an economic crisis.