It happens a lot in the second term: people leave administrations and go back to private life.  We remember when Karl Rove moved on and left Pres. Bush in year six of his two terms.

Yes, second-term presidents have problems and do not always enjoy the end of their administrations.  However, I continue to say that President Obama will soon hate this job as much as Pres. Buchanan did before the arrival of Abraham Lincoln.

My guess is that Pres. Obama wishes he could leave town, too.  It will be very lonely in Washington, D.C. now that AG Holder is leaving and a GOP Senate is likely coming in.

The Obama-Holder relationship is very close, as George E Condon reports:

Eric Holder, who is stepping down as attorney general, has been more than just an appointee. There was never any question that Obama was the boss. But Holder always was able to speak up to the president; he was someone the boss was comfortable having around him. In part, that kinship came from the obvious link between the first African-American president and the first black attorney general. In part, the comfort came from the close friendship of their wives. And, in part, it came from a shared agenda.

At the official announcement of his resignation, Holder made an emotional reference to his personal relationship with Obama while the president stood by his side. "We have been great colleagues," Holder said. "But the bonds between us are much deeper than that. In good times and in bad, and in things personal and in things professional, you have been there for me. I am proud to call you a friend."

AG Holder's departure creates two problems for President Obama:

1) He loses a friend – a very loyal friend, who defended what many of us have called "lawlessness" on immigration and targeting journalists.

2) He won't get someone like AG Holder approved by the U.S. Senate.  He had 60 Democrats intoxicated with "hope and change" when Mr. Holder was approved as attorney general.  Pres. Obama won't get away with nominating an activist liberal.

This is why I write that Pres. Obama really wishes that he could leave town, too.  From Iraq to not having AG Holder around, it will get very lonely for Pres. Obama!

P.S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.