( CNN ) -- A lot of people do n't pay close attention to midterm elections . They are not as exciting as the presidential campaigns , and most Americans are just not interested in the ups and downs of individual members of Congress . But the last midterm that a president faces matter very much . President Obama knows more than anyone that he has much at stake in the midterm elections . If Republicans are able to regain control of the Senate while retaining their majority in the House in November , they will have two years to inflict significant damage on the administration 's agenda and set the terms of debate for the 2016 election . Republicans have already been remarkably successful at using their standing in Congress to cause problems for President Obama . Even though Democrats have controlled the Senate , House Republicans have stood as an impenetrable barrier against almost any substantial legislation and used the lower chamber as a platform to keep public attention focused on deficit reduction . If they can grab hold of the Senate as well , their power will vastly increase . Lame-duck presidents have repeatedly seen the ways in which an opposition Congress can be used as a battering ram against the White House . During the late 1950s , the enormously popular Dwight Eisenhower learned this the hard way . In the 1958 midterm elections , Democrats , who already controlled Congress , vastly increased the size of their majorities in both chambers . Most importantly , the number of Northern liberals grew to counteract the power of Southern conservative Democrats . Liberals used the next two years to put forward a huge array of proposals—ranging from medical care for the elderly to civil rights—that liberalized the political conversation . President Eisenhower , who was focused on balancing the budget and cutting federal spending , had little success holding back this idealistic bunch . Although they did n't have much legislative success before John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson arrived in the White House , congressional Democrats were able to set the agenda for the next decade , with many of their ideas culminating in the Great Society . One of the most influential presidents of the 20th century , Ronald Reagan , learned about his diminishing clout after the 1986 midterm elections , when Democrats retook control of the Senate ( which they had lost in the 1980 election ) and retained control of the House . Between 1987 and 1989 , Democrats used their power in Congress to finally hit back against the conservative revolution . With powerful Speaker James Wright at the helm in the House , Democrats obtained a budget deal that increased taxes and preserved most key domestic spending . They also expanded Medicare and built pressure for clean air initiatives . On foreign policy , they launched a devastating investigation into the Iran-Contra scandal that severely damaged President Reagan 's reputation , while working on a peace plan for Nicaragua , a country that had been a focus of Reagan 's anti-Communist efforts . If anyone survived the lame-duck blues it was President Bill Clinton . In the 1998 midterm elections , Republicans defied historical trends and suffered losses in the House . Undeterred , they managed to impeach Clinton on December 19 , 1998 . In the months that followed , Clinton was able to avoid conviction because the Senate refused to move forward with the decision of their counterparts . Over the next couple of years , Republicans suffered as much as Clinton , as there was a backlash against what they had done . Clinton watched his approval ratings soar while the booming economy continued to lift the president 's spirits . Nonetheless , Republicans still had considerable clout through their congressional base . They continued to keep the public agenda focused on deficit reduction and spending cuts and offered almost no space for Clinton to pursue any major domestic initiatives . Clinton 's presidency—even with his popularity and a booming economy—sputtered in its final moments with Republicans making sure that no policy-making opportunities emerged at the end for him to build his legacy . Nobody understood how that lame duck period could really hurt like President George W. Bush . At the height of power after his 2004 defeat of John Kerry , Bush struggled after Democrats regained control of Congress in 2006 . Democrats used the next two years to get their bills through Congress , including an economic stimulus package , ethics reform , a higher minimum wage and energy legislation that raised fuel efficiency standards . They also mounted enormous pressure on the administration to change course in Iraq -- which the President did with the announcement of the surge in 2007—and blocked any hope that existed for him to pursue spending cuts . The midterms this November will matter a great deal . If Republicans win control of the Senate , President Obama will be in for some tough times . Some Democrats have complained that the White House has not been doing enough to provide assistance in the midterms . If that accusation is true , the White House might want to rethink its strategy given the important two years that lay ahead .
Julian Zelizer : The last midterm election that a president faces matters very much . Zelizer : If GOP gains control of Senate and retains control of House , its power increases . He says President Obama might turn into a lame-duck president with little clout . Zelizer : If Democrats lose the Senate in November , Obama will accomplish little .