Presidents don't matter anymore, especially in a globalized, technocratic economic order. This is not a partisan issue. It doesn't matter who is president. No "ordinary American who can dream of one day becoming president" is in a position to alter the basic equation, which would involve bucking the vast military-financial-industrial-academic complex that drives the American economy, funds our political elections and keeps people in line through any means necessary. That's as true of Obama as it was of Kennedy or Nixon or any president in recent history. Those who seek to turn the presidency into an independent power base get a bullet through the head or are chased out of office.
History has shown when it comes to the overall direction of American governance, absent generally minor tweaks of foreign policy and somewhat more robust swings on certain domestic issues that rouse voting bases (notably things like gay and reproductive rights and, lately, immigration) presidents of both parties rarely deviate from a kind of "consensus" cobbled together by people in academia, media and government, a consensus that almost always serves the interests of a fairly small number of wealthy people and interests.
Obama, for all of his high words during his 2008 campaign, never matched the rhetoric to his actual governing stances. Even if he wanted to change the overall direction of our government, he would face steep institutional hurdles. As such, he has no choice but to try and keep people complacent, for he is essentially helpless. This is in part because of the power-brokers to whom he owes his political success--figures from the neo-liberal end of the same status-quo-benefiting money spectrum--bankers, investors, corporate attorneys, who always run things. He has almost no wiggle room.
When Obama has tried to assert himself, his efforts have not gone well. Notably, when he tried to reduce troop force in Afghanistan, a campaign of leaks from high-placed military sources, accommodated by their friends in the media, immediately neutered him. Once it became clear that virtually no one would actually tell the public what had happened in this instance (or bring to the spotlight the tremendous financial stakes in Afghanistan for corporate interests), Obama must have understood what history has in store for him: the legacy of a Carter or a Clinton or perhaps a Ford, followed by the rewards heaped upon Bill Clinton in the long years remaining in his life. Basically, the message is, "tread carefully and we'll take care of you and your family later." Like other recent presidents, he traded in real leadership for comfort and money.
The media, which should be in a position to inform the public about the real issues of the day, does not do so. Why do you think oligarchical interests own media outlets, or befriend or seek to influence the owners? Because they are in a perfect position to tell the masses what to worry about, what not to worry about, what they might aspire to change, and what must or will be left as it is.
The preferred and most comfortable roles of the media, Hollywood, publishing, and academia are to get us to focus on individuals and personalities, and to exaggerate their significance--not to focus us on recurring patterns that render those individuals largely irrelevant. Obama is one of those people, he's effectively just a puppet on a string.