Good question. I think the simplest perspective is this; imagine a scale or continuum. On one end is pure liberalism (embodied by, say, Chairman Mao), on the other is pure conservatism (embodied by, say, Hitler). American politics of the last 200 years have been well within certain boundaries toward the center of that scale.

Any time there is movement in one direction or the other, opponents of the regime in power pretty much always scream that it is a move “toward socialism” or “toward nazism,” or “toward empire” or what have you. During Bush’s presidency, it was generally agreed among extreme liberals that he was forming a militaristic, return-to-the-dark-ages sort of conservative empire. Now that Obama is in power, conservatives are screaming that he is pulling us toward a socialistic, all-your-stuff-is-owned-by-the-state enclave.

There are certainly larger historical trends going on here in terms of the direction of the country. But those trends are dictated by societal mores that are much larger than any one president. Feel free to disagree with President Obama (there are lots of reasons and issues to do it on!), but I think the charge of him being a secret socialist trying to radically alter the pillars of our way of life is just unfounded rhetoric.

1) Here’s the thing… you can’t expect the Democrats to seek bipartisanship from a disciplined, completely unwilling Republican minority. I wish bipartisanship were an option, but you are right that the Reps. bear the blame for this one. And really, is it all that different than every other administration since Clinton?

2) You’re not wrong… but the situation isn’t unique. Maybe I’m desensitized, but I don’t get excited anymore about something that’s pretty much SOP for American politics.

1) failed bipartisanship – I don’t think this falls under ‘incompetent leadership from democrats’ because the republicans were unwilling to do it, either. The only piece of truly bipartisan legislation I’ve heard about is a committee-level bill that was passed to try and force the NCAA to have a playoff for Division IA football. Failed bipartisanship, which could also be a sub-heading under…

2) empty promises – What you call ‘the moderating effect of the Presidency’, I call campaign bullsh*t. I believe that 85-90% of Americans are at least partially moderate, i.e. not crazy-conservative or crazy-liberal. The game for both major parties is to be as left-leaning or right-leaning as you can (without losing electability) during the primaries, then dive for the middle in the general election. President Obama and his handlers are smart politicians, and are certainly smart enough to understand that many of the promises candidate Obama made would impossible to deliver, given our current form of government and identity as a society. I’m not saying he’s alone in this. All politicians do it. He’s just the one who got elected doing it last year.