Why WOULD Obama express frustration with 'the left,' when that would be politically disadvantageous?

[Writer]

[Demeter]

1. He Wants to Lead Sheep

when what he has are a bunch of hungry alley cats and some overfed fat cats.

So he hangs out with the fat cats. After all, the alley cats have fleas, ear mites, no manners, and no diamond chip collars. And there are so many of them.

[stray cat]

2. Because he has the same right to disagree as we do, To hold the left accountable

Turnabout is fair play, why are we the only ones to express self-righteous indignation

[zipplewrath]

3. Coming up short

He knows he is coming up short, and doesn't like being told about it.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. Because he sees what he has done under difficult circumstances...

and feels that the left has been unrealistic in their ideas and demands.

I think sometimes it is what it appears to be.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Because he's a triangulating fool. nt

[LAGC]

6. Who voted for #7?

Because he doesn't possess a strong political acumen and fails to see the importance of catering to those who are the most politically vocal.

He caters just fine to the political right. When Glenn Beck slams Van Jones he's fired. Brietbart slams Shirley Sherrod she's fired. Huckabee complains that Obama should go to church, so he goes to church and makes a big media event out of it.

The problem is, he hears the right just fine... why doesn't he hear the left?

[jpgray]

7. Honestly?

Because when he points to his accomplishments thus far, he wants people to take pride in them. Totally understandable. Based on majority views in the Beltway and among even his own delegation in Congress, he's moved mountains against extreme resistance to get things passed.

Based on majority views in the country at large, some of those accomplishments cede too much ground to extremely unpopular but powerful groups--namely, the insurance/pharma industry and the financial sector. When most voters despise these industries and seek their punishment, wondering why more hasn't been done does not seem to me a case of being asleep. In Washington, ceding this ground probably seems the only feasible path, but many elsewhere ask why mass popular support for Medicare for all and finance industry punishment lacked the oomph to at least start the bargaining from a tough, populist position rather than a moderate, establishment position.

Bottom line, he wants people to get more excited about his work, and people are having trouble getting excited, and that's frustrating for him. It's not simply the critics' fault for not getting excited, and it's certainly not all Obama's fault that spectacular reforms have little chance of passing at all.

[scheming daemons]

8. Other: Push polls suck

[boppers]

10. +1

At least they're usually blatantly obvious.

[paulk]

9. because he's a rookie and makes rookie mistakes?

or maybe Rahm convinced him it was a good idea...

[DemocraticPilgrim]

11. Simply because the right will try and impeach him and anyone of us in that position would feel the..

same way knowing they hadn't done anything to warrant it.

[impik]

12. Because he speaks the truth.