Let's go ahead and stipulate right now that Obama has done a mediocre job as President in a variety of areas (and a decent job in others). He's made some mistakes. Most of them have been political/messaging mistakes. I still think that history will judge Geitner/Summers as a decent team that headed off world economic ruin (but made some questionable deals with Wall Street in the process), but I'll go ahead and stipulate that they've also been poor.
Even if we stipulate that Obama has been mediocre in both policies and messaging, it's still pathetic to hear the Democratic base whine and carry on like someone just strangled a puppy in front of them. You people are acting like a bunch of babies. Things are bad for the Democrats, but seriously...calm down. You're making a scene. Your hysteria is causing a feedback loop where the base becomes more depressed than they already are.
It's odd. I hear night and day how Obama needs to fire up his base, and how that firing up the base is the solution to Obama's problems. I agree. 2010 is a base turnout election. Obama has done a horrific job communicating with the base (particularly when it comes to heralding his 1,000+ tiny progressive achievements). But the same people who point that out spend nearly 99% of their oxygen ensuring that the base will NEVER support Obama. They say things like, "I've given up on him...who's with me???" or "He's a sellout" or "He's Hoover" or "He's pathetic." They lob character attacks at him that they can't take back. This sort of destructive language helps perpetuate the depressed base feedback loop and exasperate Obama's problems.
Many have argued that the internet or cable news is not a powerful force, and that criticizing internet opinion-mongers is silly. First of all, I'm not just criticizing internet opinion-mongers. I'm criticizing my friends who wine day and night about Obama.
At any rate, many have cited usage statistics on Dailykos or ratings on MSNBC to strenghten their case that their complaining is problematic. I think these folks underestimate the power of mediums like social networking (traditional kitchen table socializing or internet social networks) to filter that opinion down to rank and file Democrats. Let me give you an example:
I don't have very many political friends on Facebook. Maybe a dozen out of hundreds of friends. And yet, nearly every day over the last year, my Facebook feed was littered with nasty comments about Obama from three or four Democratic activists. Those comments were seen by thousands of people, including apolitical folks who barely follow the news. Because of the way that apolitical people react to elite opinion (they tend to trust their political friends' takes on issues), this negative opinion filters down the line. A small group of Obama bashers can do a ton of damage.
This diary is not meant to excuse Obama's mediocre messaging and execution. I'd assign about 25% of the blame for the depressed base on Obama, 25% on the elite members of base itself their destructive tactics, 25% on Congressional Democrats' weak performance, and 25% on the economy (a weak economy makes people crabby). But I think that people need to realize that we have a two party system. It may feel good to kick Obama when he's done and harp on his mistakes. There is SOME value to pointing out Obama's mistakes, as this message filters down to Democratic leaders. But at some point, you're not accomplishing anything. The relentless negativity only breeds more negativity.
Obama needs to motivate the base. He needs to connect with the base. But the base needs to give him a chance. They say that history doesn't correctly judge presidents for a generation. It's too early to declare Obama a failure, or to lob nasty attacks at him.