The second term doldrums have hit the Obama Presidency, and the likelihood of much more being accomplished now seems dim–whether immigration reform, gun regulations, climate change, or anything else.
The same thing happened to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush in their second terms, and for all but Roosevelt and Truman, the 22nd Amendment, limiting terms of office to two terms, has helped contribute to the problem, as a President, even if he wins a massive second term victory, is still, fundamentally, a “lame duck”, since Congress and the news media know he is term limited, and will not be able to run for the Presidency again.
Scandals have harmed all of these Presidents mentioned, in that second term, with the exception of FDR, and foreign policy controversies also affected all of them, except Nixon and Clinton in their second terms in office.
So the controversies swirling today around Barack Obama will cause more focus to begin sooner on the race to replace him in the White House on January 20, 2017!