New year ... new lame duck?
With one year left, kicking your feet up after going from this to this may be tempting, but not likely.
So what lessons can President Obama learn from the final year of recent two-termers?
Lesson 1: Hope for no money problems.
President George W. Bush spent basically all of 2008 dealing with the Great Recession. His approval ratings went way down. But he had success on the domestic front with the Economic Stimulus Act and the bank bailout.
>> Watch: President Obama, Seinfeld get coffee
Lesson 2: Go global.
After a not-so-great couple of years, in his final year President Bill Clinton signed a bill solidifying trade partnership with China, which helped China get into the World Trade Organization.
>> President Obama won't eat these things
Lesson 3: Stay the course.
Despite (almost) impossible odds, President Ronald Reagan never stopped trying to quell tensions with the Soviet Union. The arms-control agreement, called the INF Treaty, was ratified during his final year.
>> President Obama's 2014 vacation cost $8 million
Most importantly, just try not to leave a big mess for one of these folks to deal with.
This video includes images from Getty Images and music from Birocratic / CC BY ND 2.0.
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