Barack Hussein Obama was?sworn?in?as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009. The son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, he was the first African-American to ascend to the highest office in the land.

On Nov. 6, 2012, Mr. Obama was?reelected, defeating his Republican opponent Mitt?Romney,?after a long, hard-fought campaign that centered on who would heal the battered economy and on what role government should play in the 21st century.

In 2008, Mr. Obama had beaten?Senator John?McCain,?the Arizona Republican, after defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

Mr Obama’s 2008?victory? came as the economy was in near free-fall, and his term has been shaped by what many have called the Great Recession and the weak recovery that followed. Mr. Obama was confronted by a number of crucial issues in foreign policy, including the war in Iraq,?where he withdrew American troops, and?Afghanistan,?where he increased their numbers before beginning a drawdown meant to end America?s combat role in 2014.

Mr. Obama?s first term had a number of big successes, including the killing of Osama bin Laden and the passage of a vast health-care reform bill, a giant stimulus package and a financial regulatory overhaul. But he was blocked by Republicans on issues like climate change and immigration, and lost Democratic control of the House in the midterm elections of 2010. The year after that was dominated by bitter jousting with House Republicans over budget issues, a conflict both sides eventually deferred till after the presidential election.

That race was been close from the beginning. Going into the fall campaign, Mr. Obama, bolstered by a well-received convention, appeared to hold a small lead. Republicans took heart when Mr. Romney batterered the president?during the first of three debates. But Mr. Obama fought back during the last two, and his poll margins began to creep back up.

In some ways Mr. Obama has been remade by his time in office. Burned by failed Roosevelt Room summits with Republican leaders and faced with implacable resistance, he has abandoned the inside game to barnstorm the country pressuring lawmakers. Once a virtual prime minister tethered to Congress, he now advances immigration, environmental and education initiatives through executive authority. The candidate of change now argues for staying the course.

– NYTimes