"Obama is more about placating High Broderism, Tim Russert and the Washington Post editorial board than he is about transformative progressive change. I'll work hard to help elect him, but I also don't intend to delude myself about what to expect when he becomes President."

This is the kind of grassroots, progressive activist support that Bowers is talking about.

I think he's talking through his hat, but even if true --- these grassrootian progressive activists seem to be like him. They know more and more that Obama is not a progressive, is not an activist and has a rather condescending attitude toward the grassroots, but they will work hard for him anyway.

Historians continue to debate the significance of Jacksonian democracy. Those of the 19th century emphasized mob vulgarity and the spoils system as its hallmarks, only to yield to Frederick Jackson Turner and his Progressive Era disciples, who saw Jackson and his policies as the reflection of the democratic frontier spirit. Modern study of the phenomenon has stemmed mainly from Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.'s evaluation of the Jacksonian movement as basically an attempt by Eastern wage earners to constrain the business community. In rebuttal Joseph Dorfman and Bray Hammond saw Jacksonians not as working-class enemies of business--as symbolized by the attack on the U.S. Bank--but as would-be entrepreneurs assailing existing vested interests in order to establish their own capitalist fortresses.

The talk about things left, here at Talk Left of all places, is to sort of, kind of, partly arrive at things that I might take to my Democratic Party County meeting.  Or a letter to my miserable ratfink pseudo-Dem representative.  Or my 2 great senators.

I already know enough about John S. McCain III.

Obama's support doesn't match this definition, as we know he was selected by Axelrod, Senator Kennedy, Sen. Kerry, and others, to compete for the Dem. nomination against Sen. Clinton.  Top down, not grass roots up.    

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BTD: "I am sorry, but history did not start in 2004."

grassroots, progressive activist support

I'm going to assume he's talking about a new kind of activist support that devalues ALL OTHER kinds of activist support.  At his own peril.

Isn't he talking about the creative class here, and if he is, if you'd like to contrast Obama's activist support with FDR's activist support, I say go further.  I saw this skewering of Bowers does not go far enough.  

There are two candidates running for President, John McCain and Barak Obama.  McCain wants to continue President Bush's domestic and foreign policies, including the Iraq war.  Obama wants to change these policies.    

Now scan the current posts on TL and answer these questions.

How many of the current posts on TL are critical of McCain?  Not a single one.  

How many of the current posts on TL are critical of Obama?  A bunch.  

Now I'm not saying that Obama is above criticism or that liberals or leftists should uncritically support Obama.  For example, Obama was certainly deserving of the criticism he received in the telecom issue.  Nor am I telling TL how to run your blog.