Had the progressive blogoshere been around in 1994 . . .

[wndycty]

. . .Bill Clinton's presidency would have prematurely been declared dead as well.

[vaberella]

1. I doubt that all of them are sincere progressives.

I've come to realize that true progressives and liberals are fairly different. I do believe some people are progressives here...but not all. Not by the meaning of it, or the meaning I have for it. I talked about it a bit.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x508260

[NYC Liberal]

2. Imagine if they had been around for FDR.

He would have been called a war criminal and all sorts of other horrible things for the internment camps, not desegrating the army, etc. (despite the rosy-colored glasses through which he is viewed now).

[jobycom]

3. It was declared dead. By the MSM, by Gingrich, by everyone.

Clinton had been an executive in Arkansas, though, and had experience working with crybaby blowhard conservatives, and still getting things done.

Obama doesn't have that experience. He's about to. :) This could turn out good or bad for him. On the one hand, the Democratic Congress he had to work with was weak, and it was too used to being a minority to be effective as a majority. Without that negative influence, Obama may be able to get more accomplished. His own true skill is consensus building, and now he has to use that skill to get anything done. I think if he trusts himself and quits listening so much to his advisers, he could really succeed now. We won't get all the things we want, but he could really turn out to be a statesman now.

On the other hand, he so far hasn't been able to take charge. He follows his advisers too closely, and seems to be the type of guy who believes the last argument he heard, except on a few issues. Most of what he has done so far is sign legislation written and worked out by other people. If he follows that trend, the Republicans are going to whip him around like a Corolla during Katrina, and they will either freeze government or get too much of what they want, and our worst nightmares will return in 2012.

I don't know which to expect. Most people are just guessing. It makes no sense to believe one way or the other. It only makes sense to move on from here and do what we can. IMHO, anyway.

One good thing--Gingrich was an ass, but he was a skilled and clever politician. Boehner (I guess I'll have to figure out his name now) is just an ass. So Obama isn't facing Moriarity, at least.

[ibegurpard]

4. like it would've made a difference

we still got saddled with NAFTA, telecomm dereg, welfare reform...