I've noticed the president switches between "omnipotent tyrant" and "powerless figurehead" depending whether or not I agree with his party.

When he's in my own party, he's a lame duck, unable to effect the slightest change without congressional approval.

When he's the opposite party, he's a monarch whose word is law and who answers to no-one.

This is extremely convenient as it allows me to avoid all kinds of cognitive dissonance :)