As he enters the final phase of his term in office, President Obama now has a mostly negative role in the governing process. His suggestions for transformative policy changes are nearly irrelevant now that his party has squandered the firm control of Congress it enjoyed in 2009. He cannot count on getting the votes to pass anything new.

Obama’s contribution from this point forward will be to use vetoes and threats to obstruct whatever the recently elected Republican Congress passes. So far in this session of Congress, the media have focused on Republicans’ struggles to fulfill their base’s expectations while avoiding a government shutdown. But at some point, they will have to acknowledge Obama’s role as President No. Ideally, it will occur as Obama is given as many opportunities as possible to use his veto pen.