Obama vs. the 'professional Left'

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lashes out at the Left for criticizing President Obama. Are liberals making unrealistic demands, or do they have a point?

The Left has criticized Obama for opposing gay marriage, failing to close Guantanamo Bay, and abandoning a public option in the healthcare bill.
(Image credit: Getty)

In a rare unguarded moment, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has lashed out at the "professional Left" for criticizing President Obama. "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian health care and we've eliminated the Pentagon. That's not reality," Gates told The Hill. Obama has been the target of criticisms from the Left for his opposition to gay marriage, his failure to close Guantanamo Bay, and the lack of a public option in the health-care bill. The press secretary almost immediately walked back his statement, saying his comments had been "inartful," but many argue he has damaged the president's rapport with his liberal base ahead of the midterm elections. Are hard-line liberals demanding too much of President Obama, or should the White House be more heedful of its frustrated base? (Watch a Fox News discussion about Gibbs' comments)

Liberal criticism is justified: It's no wonder liberals are frustrated by Obama's progress, says Glenn Greenwald at Salon. There's "widespread economic misery" in the U.S. and all the White House has given us is an "apparently endless devotion to Wall Street," and a host of broken promises ranging from civil rights to gay rights. Gibbs' "petulant and self-pitying" rant is just another slap in the face.

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