“We must act,” President Obama declared in his inaugural address. A critical part of his strategy is harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of his campaign supporters to promote his legislative agenda.

Second terms are often marked by disappointment and frustration, as presidential vigor is sapped by the effects of the lame-duck flu. (There’s no vaccine against it.) And Obama has a special problem: a House of Representatives dominated by hard-core conservative Republicans who have declared holy war against the president.

But the White House aims to marginalize those opponents by generating public support for Obama’s proposals and forcing lawmakers to respond to their constituents. The president was speaking about gun laws — but could have been addressing his entire legislative agenda — when he said recently: “I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it.” Obama’s close adviser Robert Gibbs framed the strategy this way on MSNBC: “The president has the most exciting campaign apparatus ever built. It’s time to turn that loose.”