how could anyone living in this reality possibly believe this?

Chris Matthews and Panel Still Touting the "Obama Moved Too Far to the Left" Meme
(Crooks and Liars)
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Obama is - at best - center-right these days. The reason that his popularity is fading is because he is ignoring the left and pissing off anyone with even mildly liberal leanings. If he actually came through with even a few of his campaign promises (that are almost universally supported by a vast majority of Americans), his approval ratings would soar.

But, he is trying so hard to be bi-partisan that all he is doing is kissing republican asses all day long instead of accomplishing anything.

Hardly rocket science here...