And, for better or worse, Obama doesn't need to cater to your vote, particularly if/when the Republicans nominate somebody who heads off far into the right wing. You may not particularly love Obama, but you'll (perhaps) show up to vote against the Republican contender. Instead, Obama is triangulating nicely on where he sees the middle to be.

What I find interesting, if you stand back and look at it, is that the arguments coming from the American left during the Bush years often boiled down to "why vote for Democrats who are indistinguishable from Republicans? Go ahead and vote {Green,etc.}." Well, the American left never quite did that in meaningful numbers, but the American right took it completely to heart with the Tea Party business.

I wonder if the left will rediscover its own ideas and, umm, copy the Tea Party.