The lame duck period can be stretched if nobody is listening to the president any more, i.e. he has no political power left. That obviously isn't happening in this case.
True, but as I stated, that is a rare occurence for any President. Jimmy Carter might have fit, but I don't have the knowledge to back it up.
And as I've stated about this President, in a center right country with the strong loyalty the base evidences toward this man at this stage ranking higher than Reagan at this stage? That is where his capitol is derived from. The MSM can't affect that, they haven't the credibilty to resonate with the base.