In November 2008, voters were pissed off, and they expressed that anger at the polls. Barack Obama was elected by the widest popular vote margin in two decades in one of the largest political shifts in decades. In the days following his inauguration, the President enjoyed an approval rating of around 65%.

His approval rating has since dropped to 47%. That is on par with the ratings of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, who were later reelected, one year after they took office but 30% less than George H.W. Bush’s ratings, who was not reelected. In other words, first year approval ratings are not representative of a candidate’s future prospects.

But that does not mean the President can sit back if he wants to be reelected and, ultimately, promote American interests.

First, if Obama wants to be reelected, he needs to communicate his message to the people. That’s ridiculous, you might say. Obama has successfully created his own hope and change brand.

Well, that hopey-changey thing, as Sarah Palin would put it, only lasted the President so long. It’s no longer about campaigning against the past; it’s time to govern for the future.

Obama needs to articulate a bumper sticker message – an Obama Doctrine. If I had to guess, I’d say it should be about rebuilding America: rebuilding American infrastructure, American finance, American energy, American healthcare, and American international standing.

This would give many a clearer picture of exactly what the overarching theme of the Obama presidency is and what President Obama is trying to do. In turn, this would build support for many of the policy changes he is trying to enact, strengthening the country.

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Furthermore, Obama needs to take control of the issues. He has already done this in many respects for foreign policy, but for domestic issues he has left far too much to Congress, an increasingly dysfunctional institution. For example, it was not until the President released his own health care reform plan that Congress finally put the finishing touches on its own legislation.

In two other critical issues facing his administration, Obama can do much without the help of Congress. Legislation combating global warming, for example, has been bogged down in the Senate for months. The American people, and the world for that matter, need not wait so long. The President could order the Environmental Protection Agency to begin regulating carbon dioxide today, under the Clean Air Act, a power backed up by the Supreme Court last year.

Financial regulation could also be done through several regulatory bodies (e.g. the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, etc.) without authorization by Congress.

Taking these steps would be a win-win for the Obama administration: help Obama, help America.