The Fast Fix: Will liberals abandon Obama?

Does President Obama run a reelection risk in upsetting
portions of his own party?

Many within his own party are deriding President Obama for giving up too much in the final debt ceiling deal.

Emmanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri and the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, went as far as to call the deal a "sugar-coated Satan sandwich".

But what are the real world political implications for Obama of unhappy liberals?

Not all that many. While liberals are peeved now, it's a long way until the 2012 election. That gives Obama plenty of time to throw them a legislative bone or two to convince them that he's still their guy.

And, when faced with the prospect of choosing between Obama and the Republican presidential nominee, it's hard to imagine liberals voting for someone with whom they agree on almost nothing in order to send the president a message.

The biggest danger for Obama then is that some significant chunk of liberals decide to sit out the 2012 election, robbing him of the energetic support from the party base on which his 2008 victory was built.

Viewed broadly though, the anger on the left is full of sound and fury signifying not much.

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