Obama has done some great things, and I imagine everyone on this site and other activist sites will happily broadcast his accomplishments during the upcoming election cycle. But his list of "wins" is going to fall on apathetic ears because Obama's not out in front talking to HIS voters.
As Bill Clinton proved, Obama doesn't even HAVE to be fighting for his supporters (although I think he is), but he's got to SAY he is, and SAY where the roadblocks to progress are. His riveting pre-inaugural speeches are what rallied voters, and they're what will be required from him to rally voters again. Communication is part of the job we elected him to do, and it's the major area where he's failing.
It's not fair to blame a beleaguered, disenfranchised public for staying home when they feel screwed over. Those voters are still there, but they need Obama to communicate with them. Not us; not his press secretary; not pundits who favor him. Obama needs to talk.
It's confounding to me why he doesn't brag it up a bit! Obama's done more in three years for progressive causes than Bill "summerjobs" Clinton did in ALL his years. (I can't back that up please don't ask me to... I don't want to revisit the Clinton years.) But love him or hate him, Clinton had ONE thing over Obama: he kept his supporters excited, even from a weak, weak position, using his mouth (and a saxophone). And if Bill Clinton had gotten fraction of Obama's achievements done, we'd never have heard the end of it; people may have Kinged him. He got some summer jobs going one year, and I'm STILL hearing about that great accomplishment like it was the New Deal.
Clinton could put cow manure on toast and call it a four-star meal, and people would eat that up even when there was no real progress, because Clinton got out from behind closed doors (heh, yeah go figure) and shouted his case to the public. I was NOT a [Bill] Clinton fan, but my jaw would DROP with that delicious audacity of his. (Irony intentional.)
Again, Obama's voters are still out there, but they're working and struggling to EAT. When they get a sound bite from Obama, they're not hearing Obama complain about Congress taking forever to pass HCR (2009), or even about how we're losing ground to Tea Partiers (which is obvious and could be parroted easily). They're not even hearing, "Let's do this," much less, "Yes we did!" Obama's photo ops are with Republicans; and his few sound bites are along the lines of, 'you must sacrifice YET MORE!'
(Or, 'I wish I could remain anonymous' — not exactly a campaign slogan.)
The '08 voters are not now suddenly evil, lazy, or non-caring; they're despairing. Obama was their Great Hope, and he's probably done more than enough actual achievements to make his base proud. He just stopped talking.
It's not his thing? It used to be. It's how he got elected.
And it's something we CAN'T do for him.