A Wake Forest University professor who has studied President Obama's first term says he accomplished some of his goals, but fell short on others.

Professor David Coates says Obama found it a challenge to work across the aisle.

"I think he came in hoping he could reach across the aisle and build bipartisan coalitions in ways in which in the end turned out to be very difficult to do."

Coates says working with fiscally and socially conservative Tea Party Republicans proved to be a daunting task for Obama.