As I watched the exit polls from Ohio, I mostly felt relief. Despite a small blip in the polls after the first presidential debate, I was fairly confident that Obama would come out on top in the election.

Still, there was a lingering “what if” feeling. What if Romney won? What would he actually do to change the economy? How would we survive his massive tax cuts? What would happen to women’s rights? To gay rights? How would he handle foreign affairs? Thankfully, we will never find out.

Now is Obama’s chance. He can finally tackle important issues and the increasingly conservative Republican Party without qualms about reelection and appeasing all members of the Democratic Party. Presumably, he will be less cautious, and more willing to enact the changes he promised back in 2008.

But he still faces a tough road. With Republican control over the House, the President will face terrible gridlock in Congress for at least two more years. There’s no indication that the Republicans will allow any Democratic legislation to pass.

In addition, Obama will need to deal with a “fiscal cliff”. The impending end of the Bush tax cuts will mean increased taxes in a poor economy, which could bring economic growth in the U.S. to a quick halt.

So, although I didn’t wake up this morning in a cold sweat thinking about the next four years of President Romney, the President and the Democrats have a long road ahead of them.

Despite the continued animosity in Congress, I’m thinking positively. The Affordable Care Act won’t be repealed, and there’s no chance I lose the rights over my own body, at least for now. So at this point, I can only hope that the President attempts to deal with the divide between the Republican and Democratic parties in a productive way.