What he means is that because he tried hard he deserves reelection. This is a dubious claim on his part but the sentiment reflected is public school claptrap 101 where effort is rewarded and not results. So that, if a kid ‘worked really hard’ on an essay it deserves an ‘A’ no matter that it contains gibberish, poor grammar, and looks like he used it to blow his nose with prior to turning it in.
From another angle, since Obama is our first ever Affirmative Action President, his performance should be graded on a curve instead.