Scholars of the modern presidency agree: President Barack Obama entering the lame-duck period of his presidency. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush accomplished very little in the tail ends of their times in the Oval Office, and President Obama must be aware of this history. As his popularity sinks in the polls, and much of his energy is put to making sure his previously accomplishments in health care don’t implode, there’s very little he’ll be able to do going forward.

This is a problem, because there are many problems that still require a government answer. And more than that, the future of liberal politics is in doubt. Part of the appeal of President Obama has always been the idea of him as a generationally transformative politician, removing us from the dark years of conservative ascendency. But he’s always been fundamentally constrained by that ideology. Passing a version of universal health-care reform has been the cohesive goal of liberal politics for the past few decades, but with that gone it isn’t clear what is next. If the President wants to move beyond that and help define what comes next, there’s little time left.

Luckily, each problem has a solution. To fix what Congress isn’t, he’ll need to use the executive branch more aggressively. The first stop is to try and target climate change through the executive action, supporting the EPA in new rules designed to combat carbon in the atmosphere. The second is to work to boost wages through executive order, for instance by increasing the minimum wage that private government contractors pay their workers. Both steps are in process, with rules on carbon due this summer and the minimum wage push leaked this morning. President Obama will have to explain clearly the stakes and motivations for why he is taking these actions tonight.

What about the future? All signs point towards liberals using inequality as a way of focusing public concern The inequality of an economy that only works for a select few, that leaves full-time workers with insecurity and stagnating wages, and that leaves half of Americans falling behind. Republicans will counter that inequality is just a consequence of a free market of individual choices and actions that redounds to everyone’s benefit. The poor don’t work hard, while the rich work very hard. The poor don’t marry, but the rich do. And so forth.

President Obama will have to describe how the government plays a central role in all these outcomes. He’ll have to make the case that the government has a responsibility for tackling inequality. And he’ll have to explain how his actions, from financial reform to building out the safety net, have tried to reverse these trends and will continue to be necessary going forward.

It’s not an easy task. And, unfortunately, it couldn’t be more urgent.