Remember back in 2008 and early 2009 when the Obama euphoria hadn't cooled? Progressives and liberals were all giddy with hope and change. As were those only slightly engaged in politics and were caught up in the hype. They won, they believed the world was their (free) oyster.
That euphoria, that tingle down the leg, didn't really last very long. Sure, the left was still in love with Obama but you could see mean-spiritedness creeping back in to the way they interacted with their political opponents. They won, but they were angry - perhaps because they had been forced to endure 8 years of Bush, or maybe they are just angry people. You could see it in the "I won" comment from the president when he wanted them to sit in the back seat and shut-up. Republicans were along for the recovery ride and had no say. You could see the utter lack of attempts at bi-partisanship from the president and Democrats in Congress and the Senate on every issue from 209 through 2010. Afterwards you could see they engaged the GOP in Congress only because they were forced to do so. And when they did it, they did it with shrill ads about Paul Ryan pushing grandma off the cliff.
