To ensure we fairly eva­lute Obama’s pres­i­dency, we must ask our­selves now what our expec­ta­tions are for his term. It’s not as easy as you think, con­sid­er­ing that many of America’s cur­rent woes should be improved by even a mediocre president.

We’ve heard a lot of hyper­bole about how Bush was the “Worst. Pres­i­dent. Ever.” and Obama’s inau­gu­ra­tion is the most excit­ing in a half cen­tury. So to avoid future bias, this is a good time to ask your­self: where do you set Obama’s bar? That is, what does Obama have to do for you to con­sider him a “good” pres­i­dent, or even bet­ter than Bush?