Katrina vanden Heuvel "Are Obama and progressives on the outs?"

Katrina vanden Heuvel (WaPo):

There's a tension between the Obama administration and the progressive movement, but it's not the one mainstream media have been describing or that the White House seems to perceive.
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The thinking is that if progressives organize independently and forge smart coalitions, building a mass movement for reform with a moral compass that can transcend left-right divisions, we may be able to push Obama beyond the limits of his own politics, overcome the timid incrementalism of the establishment Democratic Party and counter the forces of money and power that are true obstacles to change. As Arianna Huffington has said, "Hope is not enough. . . . We need a 'Hope 2.0' that depends not on what President Obama or other politicians say or do but on what we as progressives do."
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The tension between Obama and the progressive movement isn't a threat to the president. Rather, it may be needed to save him. MORE...