I think you're a bit off the mark here, Glenn. You give good plebian advice on how to make comments on specifics while avoiding sweeping generalizations. But I think you miss just how "disciplined" the right was after Clinton and how disorganized the Democratic Party always is.

The right didn't need to hold Bush's feet to the fire. He did everything they had whined about under Poppy Bush and Clinton. He appointed judges based on ideology, not competence. He threw away or ignored regulations. He hated science. He hated the UN. He pretended to be a cowboy. He gave lip service to making government smaller while he was expanding the role of government. He gave lip service to balancing the budget while going further into the debt. Cheney was rude, crude and absolutely sure of himself. The media hated him. He was homophobic, supported Israel for religious reasons and went on "crusades" against the heathen after 9/11. Our troops were getting a raw deal while mercenaries got paid big bucks to play tin soldier.

But you know all this. Bush was a master at setting the bar very low and sliding under it.

Why would anyone on the right complain? The main reason that the boo birds came out after Harriet Miers' nomination is that it was unsuccessful. A conservative is someone who hasn't realized that they've lost. When reality hit the GOP, well into Bush's second term, some on the right freaked out. They were used to the NRA having an office in the White House. For the most part, the radicals got everything they wanted and a bunch they hadn't thought to ask for.

Meanwhile, the burden on Obama has been tremendous. He has to a) not be Bush, b) reverse everything Bush did in eight years, c) lead Congress to reverse much of the disaster of the Gingrich "Revolution" 1995-2001, d) be better than Clinton -- either Clinton and e) slam down Fox "News" and the lying hatemongers entrenched in the conservative news media.

Oh, and he has to be a good family man, get a good dog for his kids, romance his wife, and be black.

I think Obama's cruising at about a B- overall, which compares favorably to Bush's F--. Still, in this era of the 24 hour news cycle and obsession with the horserace, politics are annoying to follow. Popular positions have always had an ebb and flow to them. The left (and the middle) are trying to emulate the sphincter conservative tactic of "push push push" with a modicum of success, but it doesn't come naturally to a group that's used to thinking about a problem and discussing solutions.

You're correct that some on the left are exhorting Obama, but not because he's liberal, but because he's not liberal. Bush could placate the vitriol by being extremist and claiming it was the middle. Obama can't placate the vitriol because he's working on the problem. I trust his instincts, and his instincts say to gather more information and work with people who disagree with him to find a solution that works.