The battle for the White House that has taken place over the last 18 months has tested our ability to withstand the most intense barrage of advertising we have ever faced during an election. We saw four debates and heard countless stump speeches and advertisements. And now, finally, we have our president for the next four years: Barack Obama.

Over the last four years, President Obama has been trying to pull our economy out of its worst crisis since the Great Depression. Obama has supported equality for Americans regardless of gender and sexual orientation. He stuck to former President George W. Bush’s deadline for ending the war in Iraq and promises to end the one in Afghanistan. He has passed a sweeping health care reform that will allow for broader medical coverage for most Americans. These policies have helped move America forward, however slowly, and have kept us viable in the world market and in global politics.

That is not to say that the president’s policies have done nothing but good for the country. Obama came into office four years ago pledging to tackle the nation’s most difficult issues. However, he has been coy in asserting solutions. While his measures to boost the economy have helped, we cannot deny that recovery has been painfully slow. Hopefully with four more years and an improved economy, Obama can refocus his efforts on addressing issues he promised to fix in 2008.

We can only hope that he keeps all his campaign promises — something politicians have not done in a long time. If Obama can fulfill his promises to pull us out of Afghanistan, into a stable economic position, towards greater executive transparency, and toward gender, sexual and racial equality, he will have done a lot to put us back on the right track. His desire for moderate approaches towards governance, though, cast trepidation on the likelihood of such outcomes.

Obama’s victories in his first term were impactful but not astounding. He now has four more years to prove that his policies can truly create long-lasting change we can believe in.