"Obama still needs his liberal base"

Perry Bacon, Jr. (WaPo):

Despite President Obama's blasts against liberal activists in his party this week, he is likely to start wooing them again. Why? Because he needs them.

As my colleague Chris Cillizza wrote earlier this week, the people railing on television against Obama's deal with Republicans on tax cuts aren't in the majority even among Democrats: 80 percent of self-identified liberals approve of the president's performance. A primary challenge of Obama would be virtually assured of failure; he is not only very popular with Democrats, but even more so with African Americans (about 90 percent approval), who comprise half of the Democratic vote in some states.

But the "professional left," the unflattering name the White House has given its liberal critics, matters to the future of Obama's presidency. Here are three reasons why: MORE...