Progressives and Democrats must face this future with a certainty and clarity of purpose we have not previously pursued. Despite Obama's example, the public still does not know what to make of American Progressivism, and they have a lot of brainwashing to overcome.
We're always in this situation, but Republicans understand it and have fought to convince middle-of-the-road Americans of their radical ideas for decades. It's called the Overton window, and it's the job of partisans to fight for public opinion to expand our opportunities and give electeds the cover to pass our legislation. The right has been at this for a generation, we're just catching on.
On issue after issue Americans who call themselves moderates are actually raging lefties, but again, the right wing noise machine has made Americans terrified to identifiy themselves as such. This is the hate at the heart of concepts like Palin's "American Exceptionalism", and the true purpose of Hannity, O'Rielly, and Limbaugh.
What Democrats must understand is that even though we're right and America is with us on every issue of significance, the right has created a myth of American conservatism. The "culture war" has been an exceptionally effective cudgel, and it has taken a market disaster of unprecedented scale, $8 Trillion in value lost in a single year, for Democrats to run an election on real issues.
There are some other key numbers, to watch, btw.
Party ID is going towards 40% for Democrats and dropping towards 30% for the bad guys. This is good news. If our party ID is in the low to mid 40s on election day (as measured by exit polls), it will be a sign that not only has Obama won a landslide, but that there is the will for a true governing majority with a mandate for change.
A landslide victory for Obama will merely be the beginning. In order for Progressives and Democrats to rebuild America after the armageddon of American Conservatism, we must learn the lessons of the right. That means, institution building, movement building, party building, issue advocacy, and a new commitment to partisanship for the sake of allowing candidates the cover to carry our policies.
Progressives must take up the fights so that Democrats can deliver the solutions Americans need. Conservatism has been winning this battle for years and they have laid waste to the greatest nation in the history of the world. We must hold them accountable, learn the lessons of their failures and never allow them the chance to regroup and foist their dangerous policies upon the world again.