Time for my personal review of the year to date performances on hand…these are on the issues that affect me the most, and that I try to watch and monitor the most frequently.

1: International relations. Why its important? After getting married, I now have family overseas. When I want to visit them, or when they want to visit us, I would like the paperwork and the hoops needing jumped through to be as minimal and seamless as possible. Although our president did have the occasional stumble with a couple leaders here and there (e.g. Putin and Medvedev), he never fell right on his face, and thankfully did not repeat what has happened to some other leaders we’ve had. Regardless, he has not made the headway I would’ve hoped to have seen by this point…and I truly did have the audacity to hope in the first place. I know not necessarily a priority for most in this day in age, but for me, something I look for. Grade? “C.”

2: Economics [Specifically, the housing market]. Arizona, specifically Phoenix, was hit harder that many, and even more depressingly, not as hard as several other cities. Even so, my wife and I want to know when our assistance is coming. After months of mortgage companies refusing to take action because we’ve been able to still (making it close…) make ends meet and still pay our mortgage, get nothing. Not even something so simple as a re-fi with no loss in principal. I hate to say it, but the middle class got left off the bus on this ride. I like that Obama has set “some” wheels in motion, just none that many of us actually needed. Grade? “D-.”

3: Public image. I wholeheartedly agree that up through the election Obama was viewed more as a celebrity than a politician. But let’s be honest, he’s been in politics awhile, he knows the games, and he’s had some time now to really play around the Hill, even if being a Senator didn’t give him enough of a chance. I like that his approval rating has dropped, I really do. This means that people are seeing that he’s making real decisions. Not everyone needs to agree with your decisions, and in fact if they do, its probably the wrong decisions. Props to Obama for being willing to get down and dirty on the Hill. Grade? “A.”

4: Bipartisan relations. I know that I, probably like everyone else, got caught up by a candidate saying “enough is enough!” and “we need some change!” I know, right? Those things have NEVER been said before…  If you can tell from my sarcastic typing, I know that we get caught up in the usual rants and raves of politicians, especially when its a presidential nominee. I always look back at the first term though and say, “Really? Where was the change that affected ME?” A huge tool of that change, and a big deal to me being an Independent is the bipartisanship that needs to take place on the Hill. While I think that we still have a long way to go before we truly see some of the benefits, I know that Obama has been working hard to bridge the gaps and try and get some motion on bills that need to be passed. I’ve seem a lot of action, specifically in the 1st 100 days, in which he was trying to stay true to his word fighting for the issue rather than the party’s general agreement on various issues. I like that that, but we still have a lot of work. Grade? “B+.”

5: Education. As someone who will hopefully be having kids in the next 2-6 years, I would love to see our nation get a little better in the K-12 programs in which we have lagged behind many other countries. I know there are different factors, but looking at the HDI of countries around the world, its sad to see the US ranked at 15th as of 2008. Most of the factors are tied into education: life expectancy, knowledge & education, and the standard of living. To see us lag back, not in the top 5 or top 10, is embarrassing. If we expect to be a major world power, we need to be able to back it up with the brightest minds, most content people, and having a people that will outlast most others. Like I said, a huge part of that is education. It obviously makes up the 2nd factor, but also can affect life expectancy and standards of living. Either way, we need to permanently drop the “No Child Left Behind,” and start focusing in on the new “No Nation Left Behind” program for the US. Grade? “C-.”

I suppose that about does it for me. While having a 2.34 GPA for the first portion of being president isn’t that great, I think there are many positives that we see, and much potential. I’m truly looking forward to seeing what the next few years bring us. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching from my 114 degree chair in Arizona, cheering on President Obama, and hoping for more good things to come.

-Sully