Reads like a more detailed version of the rationalizations I read right here.

Obama can only sign bills, Obama is handcuffed by Congressional Republicans Or the classic "if you expect more from Obama you must want a dictator . . . or a KING".

Perhaps the author is not considering another possibility. Obama's goal from the very start was to be a caretaker president who just wanted to re-establish the status quo in a time of crisis.

He's satisfied with his work as president. He preserved the existing system and many many fortunes and followed the neoliberal economic playbook to the letter.

As a finishing touch on his second term he can sign the TPP and put together a grand bargain with the help of a Republican congress. Maybe that's why he seems to be mailing it in right now. His job is done.