Can Obama's Overreach Tip the Scales of Public Opinion to the GOP's Favor?

Despite a first term marred by national economic strife, political disfunction and a devastating 2010 midterm for his party, President Obama and fellow Democrats have gained momentum over the Republicans again in 2012; retaining control in the White House, seeing slight gains in Congress, and watching internal squabbles within the GOP. But will this last for long?

On Monday Obama gave a second inaugural address that has been graded by many on both sides as a vibrant defense, and declaration in favor of progressivism and a more leftward turn in term two. Red State's Erick Erickson writes that the president has taken arrogance to a new level and may be overestimating his mandate:

We have seen hubris in this administration for four years. Given Dan Pfeiffer’s comment about a not just an opposition party, but a political system, not worthy of Barack Obama, a desire to be transformation and the need to go to war with the GOP in order to transform, combined with no more accountability to voters, we should expect some amazing feats of arrogance and overreaches of power by this President in the next four years in pursuit of liberal policy.

Republicans should be ready to capitalize on it.

Combine the presumed hubris in Obama's address with what history tells us about how things go for presidents after securing reelection. Michael Barone writes in the Wall Street Journal that the second term curse is not inevitable but few presidents can claim success in round two.

Is there a second-term curse on presidents? It's widely believed that the answer is yes. Look at Richard Nixon: re-elected with 61% of the vote in 1972, forced to resign under threat of impeachment. Ronald Reagan: re-elected in 1984, then hobbled by the Iran-Contra scandal two years later. Bill Clinton: re-elected in 1996 promising to build a bridge to the 21st century, then impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath. George W. Bush: re-elected in 2004, only to see his job-approval rating plummet amid scenes of violence in the streets of New Orleans and Baghdad in 2005 and a financial crisis in fall 2008.

On 'Real News' Wednesday the panel discussed what progressive venture could become an overreach for Obama, and doom him in term two.