Turns out that convincing Congress to go along with a nearly $800 billion recovery plan – at a time when the American public has little reason to trust government – was the easy part.

Now, President Obama must figure out how to deliver on the promises embodied in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which he signed into law Tuesday.

"Today does not mark the end of our economic troubles," Obama said before signing the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. "But it does mark the beginning of the end – the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; to provide relief for families worried they won't be able to pay next month's bills; and to set our economy on a firmer foundation."

His biggest challenge will be living up to the pressure he imposed on himself when he urged the American people to judge him based on the effectiveness of the $797 billion package. Truth is, the hemorrhage of jobs, astronomical deficit and unstable market existed way before he took the oath of office. And so did the politically divided Congress.

But now, given the intensity of economic malaise nationwide, all eyes are on the economic plan’s ability to improve the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and create a greener, more sustainable planet, while preserving and creating jobs that will ease the financial burden on families.

There are two phases – immediate and long-term. In the short term, the Obama administration and Congress are banking that putting money in the hands of the American people, via tax relief, will zap a flatlining economy back to life. But over the long haul, they believe the stimulus plan will mean consistent growth and energy production, even health care for the masses currently deprived of it.

"My initial measure of success is creating or saving 4 million jobs. That's bottom line number one, because if people are working, then they've got enough confidence to make purchases, to make investments," Obama said last week before the bill's passage. "Businesses start seeing that consumers are out there with a little more confidence, and they start making investments, which means they start hiring workers. So step number one, job creation."