Well, he appointed a magnificent Secretary of State, killed Osama Bin Laden, decimated the top ranks of Al-Qaeda, ended the war in Iraq, brought all those troops home as he said he would, set a timetable to end the war in Afghanistan, led the world in toppling Qaddafi more effectively than his predecessor toppled Saddam, restored America's standing among the community of nations, and was pictured on the cover of New York Magazine with the cover line: The First Jewish President. He sextupled the number of stem cell lines available to researchers whose work may one day save your child’s life; averted depression, saved the auto industry, cut taxes for small business 18 times; signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, lifted the Global Gag Rule on family planning, removed the “co-pay” for contraception products, appointed two progressive women to the Supreme Court, made health care affordable for tens of millions of uninsured men, women, and children, paid for with a surtax on high-income individuals. He doubled the CAFE standard, kick-started alternative energy technology, launched an educational race to the top and made college more affordable, made historic strides for LGBT equality (I have a sub-list of about 70 items on that front alone), has us poised to cut the military budget, launched the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . . .

. . . all this, and a whole lot more, in the face of the most truculent opposition in living memory -- opposition that kept us from accomplishing even more, with less compromise.

Is it enough? Absolutely not. That's why we need keep the ball moving forward. If we fail to, the ball will not just stop moving forward, it will start moving back.

Which is why I've dated this list November 6, 2012. It will be here before you know it. It will be a completely pivotal day in our history. And we have the opportunity to help determine its outcome.

© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Andrew Tobias