Instantly comfortable and highly skilled at the hardest job in the world — proving his supporters' contention that all the traits that made him a great candidate would serve him well in the White House: even temper, cool demeanor, boldness under pressure, shrewd facility for managing personnel, unfailing instincts about when to delegate and when to engage. A handful of public missteps (particularly on his international trips and on torture issues) and a failure to ameliorate the partisan divide are the only true blemishes so far. Has ably balanced the spectacle and the grindstone — allowing the public to feel an intimacy with his life and family, while retaining a formal distance as he handles business.
—By Mark Halperin