His efforts to pass immigration reform, the unsuccessful push for stricter gun controls and tax hikes on high earners buttress the case for Obama-as-ideologue. But the president has also stoutly defended National Security Agency (NSA) programs that seize U.S. phone records and monitor Internet use, prompting comparisons with his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Obama came to power on the strength of his opposition to war in Iraq but is now poised to intervene in the civil war in Syria.

On top of that, there is the Justice Department’s pursuit of leakers and reporters, which critics say displays an authoritarianism that repels erstwhile liberal supporters and inflames long-standing libertarian-conservative opponents.

“President Obama has always been instinctively careful. And while he has progressive values, he’s pursued them in a careful and pragmatic way that has left his base feeling unenthusiastic [and] dispirited,” said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University.