There are two obvious literary models for late-period Barack Obama to choose from. One is Samson Agonistes, the other is Achilles in his tent.
The first, from Milton, is the hero brought low who, in defeat, offers a final act of defiance: he brings the whole temple down, wiping out the Philistines even as he perishes himself. The other, from Homer, is the great sulker who — pride bruised — retreats to his tent and sits out the game.
The latter is, at least at first, the route taken by Hillary Clinton, who did not concede publicly until hours after the election was called. President Obama has taken neither. Rather, he has made a gracious — if laborious — show of offering support to the man he had said, not long before, was not fit to hold office.