If you are going to do something big or important, do it fast. A presidential administration is like an hourglass with the sand running out. There is a blip up with your second inauguration. You know the odds are that you are going to lose seats at the midterm election, and pretty soon you are going to look pretty lame-duckish, as even your supporters start to choose up sides over your successor.
November 23, 2012, Stephen Hess,
National Journal