Politics | Barack Obama Obama: 'I've Been Here 2 Years, Guys' Obama defends record, says he's accomplished 70% of goals By Kevin Spak Posted Sep 28, 2010 10:01 AM CDT Copied President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, before signing the Small Business Jobs Act. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Barack Obama is keenly aware that liberals think he hasn’t done enough in office—but he thinks they’re being pessimists. “I keep in my pocket a checklist of the promises I made during the campaign,” he tells Rolling Stone. “We've probably accomplished 70%.” Does he still want to work on things like climate change? Sure. “I’ve been here two years, guys,” he says. Other highlights from the in-depth talk: On Republicans: “Our working assumption was that everybody was going to want to pull together,” he says. But when, on his way to talk with Republicans about the stimulus, they put out a statement evincing party-wide opposition, he knew he was in trouble. On filibusters: “I’d been in the Senate long enough to know that the machinery there was breaking down.” Still, it’s frustrating. “Everything just seems to drag on.” On hedge-fund millionaires: “I don't think [average Americans are] that sympathetic to these guys, and neither am I.” On the war: “The neglect of Afghanistan had been more profound than we expected,” but don’t call the war a failure yet. On music: He’s listening to Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. “Those are the old standards.” Read These Next That 'buy now, pay later' loan may soon hit your credit score. Hall of Famer Dave Parker dies Cops: Arizona 5th graders drew up plot to 'end' a classmate. The Bezos-Sanchez wedding: guest list, cost, the dress, and more. Report an error