How realistic is it to believe that any President can singlehandedly change the economy in 4 years?

But for the worse.

Clearly, this was the first thought for many of us

both took the economy right into the crapper. I think the right question is how easy is it for the president to take a tanking economy and turn it into a booming economy without help from the House which controls the budget process?

good chance ...

If you have a congress which has as its ONLY purpose destroying said president, it is going to be a bit harder.

Fact is, given what this congress and what the R have done at the state level to hold back the country, it is a miracle we now sit having recovered from the recession and in a slow growth.

can to prevent you from accomplishing that goal, I don't see how one can be successful.

And the size of the mess was enormous. Its just breathtaking that they can blame it all on Obama.

(you didn't specify what kind of change) ... I also believe Rmoney could do it in much the same way "W" did

"single handedly"

Obama single handedly did more in the last 4 years than anyone I know of could possibly have done. That is miraculous!

With the help of congress, he could have put through much more, and we would all have received the benefit.

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

Bush swore to do "everything in power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/

The article wasn't meant to be a road map for America. In this case, life did imitate art. It's just that the author didn't realize how close Bush came to just that.

in 8 to 10 years.

This while criticizing the President for not fixing it in 3 1/2 years.