George,

In 1980, I drank the Ted Kennedy cool-aid...while I held President Carter in high regard, there was something missing...I thought Kennedy would provide the progressive energy Carter seemed to have misplaced...result: President Reagan.

I...I don't think Obama is entirely at fault for having lost some of the enthusiasm from the left - I fault the left for not demanding that the Democratic leadership in Congress support a progressive agenda...for those of us disheartened by Obama's slide to the middle, our mission should be to provide enough of a voice in support of a true progressive agenda that liberal becomes the new middle - if we do this well, Obama will race to that middle position.

David Slutzky (Electronic mail, September 2, 2011)