President Obama went into his reelection fight facing significant head winds – most important, high unemployment and slow economic growth. Even if the nation had technically pulled out of recession, many Americans weren’t feeling it.

For Mr. Obama to win a second term, he was going to have to beat history. No president since the Great Depression had won reelection with unemployment above 7.2 percent, the rate when President Reagan was reelected in 1984.

For a multitude of reasons – Obama’s positives, Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s negatives, and factors beyond either man’s control – Obama succeeded. Here’s our list.