Who knows how many progressives have all but given up on Barack Obama?  They expected him to enter the presidency as an agent for change. And not just any change.  Significant change. He was expected to carry all that fire from the campaign trail back into the White House.   Instead, he attempted to be the great conciliator.  Mostly, it didn’t work.  In fairness, he did chalk up some major achievements.  There’s the healthcare reform bill (although nearly 50-million Americans still have no health insurance), the elimination of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military, the elimination of Osama bin Laden, support for the pro-democracy movement in the Middle East, the restoration of support for stem cell research, the appointment of two pro-choice women to the Supreme Court, the expansion of health insurance for children, the creation of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (even though the FTC was already up and running) and new regulations for the credit card industry.  He kinda, sorta got us out of Iraq.  Combat troops have been withdrawn, but there are still 50,000 troops in country.  It’s probably safe to assume they’re all armed, and able to defend themselves, even if they’re classified as “advisers.”

Nevertheless, the scope of the President’s accomplishments are magnified several-fold by the fact that he did what he did, while confronted by the “party of no,” as the Republicans turned their backs on the nation’s best interest and instead blocked anything that might give the Obama Administration the appearance of having accomplished something.  The impact their refusal to move forward would have on the country seemed to have been without consequence to this new Republican Party.  They were angry — seeing red — and out to get the President of the United States.  Their leadership stated it publicly.  Their primary goal was to do whatever was necessary to defeat Barack Obama at the polls in 2012.  If the country was devastated in the process, the middle class destroyed,  so be it.  It was a political power-grab, pure, simple, angry and ugly.  And it hurt the country.

Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, and any number of those who came before, would undoubtedly be both disgusted and ashamed.

Just how angry this new Republican Party is can be seen in their newfound support for Chris Christie, the giant bully boy from New Jersey.   He’s on the move and fixin’ for a fight and the Republicans, seem to love it.   Go get um, big man!  And while you’re at it, you should probably consult a doctor about your all too obvious medical problems.   Obama’s occasional cigarette and Bill Clinton’s burger binges shrink into insignificance when confronted by the enormity of Christie’s  morbid obesity coupled with an apparent asthma condition.

Republican support for a big angry man like Chris Christie, makes it all the more obvious that Barack Obama has got to take off the gloves and start swinging back.   Maybe he has.

The Los Angeles Times reports  that the Obama team is having a difficult time securing funding from fat cat supporters on Wall Street.  Instead, the paper reports, the bankers are writing big checks for Willard “Mitt” Romney.  An Obama campaign official tells the paper that Romney’s pitch is to repeal consumer protection laws and “allow Wall Street to write its own rules.”   The Times reports that Goldman Sachs has contributed more than six times as much to the Romney campaign as to Obama.  As usual, they’re hedging their bets, but the hedge is running six to one for Romney.  That’s bad for Obama, or is it?

Could it be that Mr. Obama has finally awakened to the fact that the time for accommodation and conciliation is over?  That he has no choice but to throw off the gloves and take on the angry, overstuffed ditto heads in a bare knuckles battle pitting traditional democratic values against the anger, greed and general disregard for humanity represented by this new confused and co-opted form of Republican Party politics?

Assuming a position that results in his campaign losing Wall Street funding could be one of the smartest moves Barack Obama has ever made.  Throwing his allegiance back to his base rather than attempting to negotiate with the wealthy few could get him a second term in office.  It could also save the country from the continued devastation being wrought by a political movement only remotely recognizable as being in any way related to traditional Republican Party values.

Maybe it’s too much to hope for.  Maybe the system’s too far gone to be rescued by one man — the government too co-opted by corporate money — too broken to be restored  to a condition that will provide representation for the many, rather than the few.   And still, it seems obvious that nothing will change until somebody stands up to Wall Street.  It would appear that Mr. Obama, has at least made a start.  Maybe this time he’ll deliver on his rhetoric and carry at least some of his fire from the campaign trail back into the White House.  It’s a thin thread to cling to, but at least it’s something.