You know, I'll add on to that last thought. Obama is too fucking conciliatory. And it got him nowhere. Deservedly so. He dumped the people who supported him whole-heartedly and picked instead people he thought were going to be less objectionable to his worst enemies. Well, the essence of leadership is LEADING. HE was the guy elected President and he should have picked the people HE wanted around him, Jeremiah Wright instead of that bitch Hillary, Van Jones, Bill fucking Ayers for christ sake. If they couldn't pass Senate confirmation, then he should take a leaf from the Bush playbook and build a parallel "advisory" structure with them, completely by-passing whatever weasels the Senate would approve. Also he and his team should target any Democratic legislators who don't support their President, take the case directly to the people of their state or constituency and make the people understand that a vote for the legislator is a vote for the oligarchy that oppresses their lives, then run progressive, left-wing Democrats against them at the first opportunity.
Obama's a classic Democratic sell-out, another Hubert Humphrey, pitch to the left and run for the middle. Totally fails to realize that there is NOTHING the guy can do, apart from self-immolation, that will appease the right.