Editor's note: How would you rate President Obama's first 100 days? You'll get a chance to make your opinion known at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on the CNN National Report Card.





Supporters say President Obama is tackling an aggressive agenda, while critics say he's leaving Republicans behind.





(CNN)  -- More than two years ago, a junior senator with presidential aspirations stood on the steps of Illinois' Old State Capitol in Springfield and warned of politicians who fail to live up to expectations.





"Too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own," then-Sen. Barack Obama said as he announced his intentions to pursue the Democratic nomination.





Now, after 100 days in office, observers are asking the same of him: Has President Obama lived up to the expectations that candidate Obama created?





"What Obama has successfully done is keep his persona intact, which is a man of deep family values and a core moral center. And I think that people are learning to trust Obama that when he talks, he's not just articulate, but he's shooting straight," said presidential historian Doug Brinkley.





Obama won the White House campaigning on a message of hope and a promise of change. As he emerged a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, he pushed an ambitious agenda, vowing to overhaul health care, education and energy policy.





But as the severity of the economic meltdown took hold and Obama moved into the White House, his inspirational rhetoric was injected with a sobering dose of reality. Obama encouraged patience and cautioned that, "change doesn't happen overnight."





In his first 100 days, Obama laid the groundwork for many of his campaign promises and faced criticism that he's trying to do too much.





"Nobody will ever be able to accuse him of being an idle man during his first 100 days," Brinkley said. "He's clearly showing himself to be a progressive in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, with the moral core of Jimmy Carter."





So far Obama is showing himself to be "the same guy that we had on the campaign trail," Brinkley said.





Given the items on his agenda, Obama is living up to expectations, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said. "The public is patient and is not expecting to see a quick turnaround in the economy," he said.





"I count 10 major items -- jobs, health care, education, energy, housing, banks, automakers, deficit reduction, taxes and the war in Afghanistan. Plus, a pledge to take up immigration reform and climate change in the near future. Any one of those things would be a significant agenda," he said.





But some Republicans say the president has failed when it comes to his pledge to reach across the aisle.





After Democrats moved ahead with a $787 billion stimulus bill that garnered no Republican support in the House and just three Republican votes in the Senate, "That's when it became clear to me that all of this post-partisan talk and working down the middle and working together was a ruse," said John Boehner, House minority leader.





Obama's approval ratings remain high -- hovering around 65 percent. Those numbers are on par with where President Reagan and President Carter stood at this point in their presidencies. But one year later, their approval ratings dropped to about 40 percent.





Obama has maintained his popularity, Republican strategist and CNN contributor Mary Matalin said, but he's lost support from Republicans and some independents "because what he is not is what he was perceived to be in the campaign -- a centrist."





Schneider said Obama's agenda -- which includes massive government spending -- represents a challenge to the Republicans' core principle of smaller government. Republicans haven't responded to Obama's outreach, and "it's causing serious political damage to their
What will he not be accused of? Who claims Obama did not act like a centrist? What was Obama's message? What was the main message of the compaign? What does the agenda represent?
idle man Mary Matalin hope and a promise of change. hope and a promise of change. overhaul health care, education and energy policy.
question: What will he not be accused of?, answer: idle man | question: Who claims Obama did not act like a centrist?, answer: Mary Matalin | question: What was Obama's message?, answer: hope and a promise of change. | question: What was the main message of the compaign?, answer: hope and a promise of change. | question: What does the agenda represent?, answer: overhaul health care, education and energy policy.