Coming off a long and grueling campaign, President Barack Obama was re-elected for four more years. Election Day was a victory for him. Sort of.

He may not have to move the kids and the dog out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but the House of Representatives remains under Republican control, the economy’s growth is still slow, the federal deficit exceeds $1 trillion and many jobs still aren’t there for those who are looking. His major health care legislation has not been fully implemented, and foreign policy matters haven’t gotten any easier.

As several have said, his first campaign was built on hope, rallying the American people together who looked to a leader to guide the country through the Great Recession. This term will be built on change. Kind of.

Many of the major tasks Obama had set for himself are already in place: His re-election solidified Obamacare’s full implementation. But many are still on his checklist, including — but certainly not limited to — immigration reform and closing Guantanamo Bay. Even with that, change isn’t necessarily what needs to happen. We need continuation.

Going into the polls, voters had the economy on the forefront of their minds, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. But if the president’s victory speech early Wednesday morning bears any indication of what we are going to see, the economy won’t completely dominate the final half of his presidency. Social issues will take on more importance, and we hope that we see more austere environmental standards and policies, a bolstering of women’s rights, marriage equality and more rights for veterans returning home.

Even if he aims to conquer these issues, he cannot forget that he was elected largely because the nation believed he could fix the economy better than Gov. Mitt Romney could. Had Romney won, everything Obama had set up for his second term would have been scrapped, and the government would begin back at square one.

America has faith in his ability to lead again, but they are more skeptical than they were before. Up to this point, though, Obama has proved to be a catalyst for change, but it must continue.

Doing so won’t be much easier than what he faced in the last few years of his term. The president isn’t pretending like the country is one big happy family, especially at a time when the nation is the most partisan it has been since the Civil War.

The same enthusiasm behind the 2008 election was not all there this time around. But, an inspired and engaged youth still trekked to the polls in higher-than-expected numbers, slightly higher than they did when Obama beat Sen. John McCain.

The issue of persuading a Republican House to work together on fixing the economy won’t be easy, but if the Republican Party wants to better it, compromise will be inescapable. For months, the aim of Republicans was to fire the president, but now they need to look to make sure the people get what’s best with what the people chose.

Tuesday night may not have been a complete renewal of hope or the mark of the brightest future for the nation. It may not have been historic. But we will make it to 2016, we will keep moving forward. We will keep hoping for a better tomorrow.

Obama’s heyday as a prominent inspirational figure may have passed, but we still have faith that he can fix the economy, mend our international relations and realize positive social change.

For the most part.