Earlier this week, I blogged about the President’s speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner – and his accomplishments in office. Also this weekend, an article in Sunday’s The New York Times Magazine brought to mind the striking contrast between Obama and the Republicans in Congress.

In September 2008, less than two months before the presidential election, the American financial system nearly collapsed. Both Obama and John McCain were called to an emergency meeting at the White House. There, President Bush and his economic advisers pled for bipartisan support for a rescue program.

The one person who responded was Obama. He didn’t have to. He could have washed his hands, walked away, said “It’s your problem” and reaped the election rewards.

That’s what FDR did. Even after winning the election, he refused to work with President Hoover. He stayed silent until he was inaugurated, which was in March in those days. Meanwhile, the nation’s economy plummeted. FDR came in, took command and became a hero.

But Obama stepped up. He did the right thing and the bipartisan thing. He helped pass President Bush’s plan. And his reward? Right after Election Day, Mitch McConnell told Republicans their mission was to make Obama a one-term President and refuse to cooperate with him in any way. That’s been the GOP playbook for eight years – gridlock, deadlock and obstructionism seasoned with birtherism and, from some corners, sheer racism.

History will show that no President has achieved more in the face of less cooperation and more hatred than Obama.