The power of the president of the United States weakens considerably from the beginning of his second term. The mandate gained by re-election quickly dissipates as Washington begins to focus on the process of selecting his successor. The second mid-term election, which typically rewards the party that does not occupy the White House, deepens the slide to irrelevance. In the case of Barack Obama, the conventional wisdom is that he is biding his time until he leaves, fighting a rear guard battle against a determined opposition, desperate to consolidate and protect his legacy.

The conventional wisdom is wrong. Recent events have confirmed to the U.S. public, lawmakers and the rest of the world that Obama remains a powerful figure, able to move the levers of government as he desires and to rouse public passions. He remains a force to be reckoned with. His presidency is by no means over.

Obama made clear at the beginning of 2014 that he would not be sidelined. He reminded Congress that he "had a pen and a phone" and he was ready to use both to push his agenda. The most prominent actions he has taken include an executive order to defer the deportation of millions of illegal immigrants, opening negotiations to normalize relations with Cuba and vetoing the first bill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress that would force the commencement of construction of the controversial Keystone pipeline.

Each move triggered outrage, protests and countermeasures by his opponents. Undaunted, Obama pressed on, and last month he won some of his biggest victories yet. In a key decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Obama's most important legacy, his health care reforms. That ruling has two important implications. First, it means that the law will stay on the books for another two years, during which more Americans will benefit from the reforms and will make it virtually impossible to repeal should a GOP candidate claim the White House in the 2016 election. Second, the legal basis of the ruling was such that it will require a congressional vote to repeal the law; it cannot be "reinterpreted" by a future administration in ways that gut its intent.

The Supreme Court gave the president a second victory days later when it recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The president has been a staunch supporter of LGBT rights and this decision gives him a big domestic boost. Equally significantly, it puts opponents on the defensive; Obama can use their rejection of this decision to discredit their opposition on other issues.

A third important victory came with congressional approval of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), the vital prerequisite to conclude negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the key economic initiative of his foreign policy toward Asia, as well as the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that is also under negotiation and likely to conclude during Obama's term. This was a bitter fight, primarily against members of his own party, and the president's readiness to take on fellow Democrats is a sign that he is still focused on his agenda, not merely that of his party.

On the foreign policy front, the announcement that the U.S and Cuba are ready to resume diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in each country is a long overdue development and another bold stroke. If the Iranian nuclear negotiations proceed to an agreement that both sides can accept, then Obama will have transformed relations with two long-standing adversaries and, potentially, permanently altered dynamics in two vitally important regions.

The announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin has twice reached out to Obama in the past week is an indication that world leaders are aware of his new standing and authority. Putin can smell weakness and exploits it. His readiness to engage Obama suggests that he understands that a new dynamic is at work in Washington.

In Beijing, Chinese officials are now preparing for the September visit of President Xi Jinping to the U.S. Their determination to ensure that meeting is a success, coupled with growing discontent in Asia over assertive Chinese behavior in the South China Sea, gives Obama additional leverage in that relationship.

There is a final critical factor that cannot be estimated, nor can it be overlooked: the Obama image and his rhetorical gifts. For all the pomp and circumstance, the power of the U.S. president both at home and abroad is limited. The president, no matter who he is, cannot direct the economy nor bring peace to the Middle East. He does, however, occupy a bully pulpit, and from that post he can bring his moral stature to bear on problems, domestic and foreign. As has been made repeatedly clear in recent weeks — speaking in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the march there and again in Charleston, South Carolina at the funeral of the slain pastor Clementa Pinckney — Obama has a singular gift to rise above the noise, raise his nation and focus its attention. That alone is reason why Obama remains a powerful leader, even as his term winds to a close.