Bernstein seconds me:
[T]his has been, so far, a very productive Congress. Note that he's now rated by Politifact as having fulfilled over a fifth of his campaign promises (and about a third if compromises, such as state instead of national insurance exchanges, are included), for what it's worth. That's without the big items still out there: banking (fairly likely), climate (still unlikely, but not impossible), and immigration (I'd be shocked)...am I missing any? And it's also without all the small things that will happen. Of course, that alone doesn't make Barack Obama a successful president, whatever that means. But those who are focused only on what hasn't happened, or what has been compromised, are missing the big picture here.
Here we are a year and a half in and what do we see?
An end to illegal torture of terror suspects. A beginning to a saner method of detaining, trying and convicting terror suspects.
Adept handling of the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930s, leading to a profitable bank bailout (excluding Freddie and Fannie) and a return to growth. Check.
Salvaging of the automobile industry, which is now showing signs of life.
Passage of an ambitious stimulus package that has helped repair many crumbling parts of the US infrastructure and poured money into green industry.