Barack Obama's successes and failures

The economy Unemployment remains high, at 9.4%, but Obama kept a core promise of reforming Wall Street. Then he broke his promise to repeal Bush-era tax cuts for the very rich, in order to win over Republican support. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ Healthcare The White House was forced to make compromises on healthcare reforms. Their future is uncertain, with Republicans pushing to repeal it and public opinion divided. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Fix 'broken politics' in Washington Obama promised to hold monthly meetings with Republicans in Congress. He held only five of them in 2010, and partisan rhetoric grew more heated than ever. In a display of unity, Democrats and Republicans are planning to cross party lines and sit together during tonight's speech. But there is little sign of a new spirit of civility, even after the attack on Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson. ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ Repair America's image in the world Obama had a last-minute win when the Senate ratified the New Start arms reduction treaty with Russia last December, and attitudes to the US have improved in Europe. But Afghanistan is looking unstable, along with neighbouring Pakistan. There is little to no progress on dealing with Iran's nuclear arsenal or the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ Planet in peril Obama's climate change bill failed amid accusations that the White House had not lobbied aggressively enough. He also faced criticism for his handling of the BP oil disaster. But he continued to move forward cautiously on new rules for industry and cars. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 'Don't ask, don't tell' Obama promised in last year's state of the union address to do away with the law banning openly gay people from serving in the military. Congress voted to end the law at the end of December over the objections of a number of Republicans, but the repeal has yet to come into effect. ★★★★★★★★☆☆