He'd probably convinced himself that the job was going well - particularly since he won the Nobel Peace Prize and kept America out of a depression.
But five words from a child burst Barack Obama's bubble.
'Why do people hate you?' asked schoolboy Terence Scott, ten, of the U.S. President, at a town hall meeting in New Orleans.
Why do people hate you?' Mr Obama takes the question from ten-year-old Terence Scott at a town hall meeting in New Orleans yesterday
Caught off guard, Mr Obama was a little defensive.
He replied: 'Well now, first of all I did get elected president, so not everybody hates me now.
'I got a whole lot of votes. But you know, what is true is if you were watching TV lately, it seems like everybody's just getting mad all the time.'
The President blamed this grumpy attitude in part on politics and on concerns among Americans about losing jobs or their healthcare.
On the spot: Mr Obama defends himself against the surprising question
'And when things are going tough, then, you know, you're going to get some of the blame, and that's part of the job. But you know, I'm a pretty tough guy,' he added.
In recent weeks, Mr Obama has faced criticism both from liberals who want him to do more to advance causes such as gay rights, and conservatives who accuse him of taking too long to decide whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.
A comedy skit on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' program a couple of weeks ago drew attention to the issue.
An actor playing the president said, 'When you look at my record, it's very clear what I've done so far, and that is: Nothing. Nada. Almost one year, and nothing to show for it.'
The criticism was magnified after Mr Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize a week ago when even some commentators sympathetic to him said it seemed premature.
See Terence ask his question here
Defensive: Mr Obama, centre, speaks at the town hall meeting in New Orleans yesterday
Mr Obama, making his first trip as president to see efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, opened the town-hall meeting by saying his work had led to some improvement in the U.S. economy and brought an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system within reach this year.
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