Robert Reich (who I hope will forgive me for pull-quoting so much of this):
The Republican base is part of a conservative movement. The Democratic base, by contrast, is a loose coalition that elects a new president and then goes home, expecting the new president to deliver miracles. [...]
I can understand your disillusionment with a president and representatives that seem to bend to the prevailing winds from the right. But if you and David and other progressives wallow in your cynicism we’ll be in much bigger trouble as a nation than we are now.
Here’s what I learned during my years in Washington: Nothing good happens there unless Americans outside Washington are sufficiently mobilized, energized, and organized to make sure it gets done.
Be angry, but channel your anger toward constructive change.
That's exactly what I've been regarding as "smart accountability." Anyone who stomps and bitches about the administration and the Democrats then threatens to not vote in the Fall is representative of the exact opposite of what Robert Reich is saying here.
Change was always going to be incremental. There were never any promises that 30 years would be transformed in a day or a year or many years. The change and hope we voted for in 2008 wasn't the "whole change" -- our votes were for the beginning of change. And from what I've observed, the ship of state is turning. It's slow, but there are significant milestones here -- milestones we have to acknowledge and embrace while remaining vigilant about our trajectory.
So chill out.
Adding... I urge you to check out this wiki site created by Karoli and Shoq. It's possibly the most comprehensive database of President Obama's achievements so far.