I enjoyed the "bet on" diaries including the snark, and I have only one thing to add. Obama bet on us, so we should too.
When Obama first announced his run for President in Springfield, he said:
That is why this campaign can't only be about me. It must be about us - it must be about what we can do together. This campaign must be the occasion, the vehicle, of your hopes, and your dreams. It will take your time, your energy, and your advice - to push us forward when we're doing right, and to let us know when we're not. This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.
On election night in Grant Park, Obama told us:
I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you."
Obama has even used the old FDR quote, "Make me do it."
He also left us his campaign website and it was renamed Organizing for America. He told us to keep organizing and keep using the site. Now, it appears that OFA has lost its way a bit standing by candidates before the issues that brought users to Obama in the first place, but the people who use the site can still get it back. I fought them and won.
Whether you're seeing something in the Obama Administration that you don't like and wondering what to do about it or defending the Administration against attacks from the left that you feel are unjust, remember that we elected Obama because he wanted us to feel empowered to go after policy that we want. The only thing he guaranteed us was that he wouldn't shut us out like his predecessor did.
That's why nothing progressive should be "off the table" and we should not feel we have to cheer everything we see. We also have to be careful we don't get discouraged when things aren't going our way. We just have to keep going as progressive activists and work for the best we can get.