Whining from the left (again)

Matt Miller (Center for American Progress): "A president’s power to shape events are more limited than we generally think. But a president’s power to shape the boundaries of debate are limited only by his imagination and by his appetite for political risk. From the looks of it, Barack Obama has plenty of imagination. So if he chooses not to challenge these boundaries, he’s a prisoner not only of entrenched forces arrayed behind the status quo; he’s a pawn, ultimately, of his own ambition." Right. Spoken like a true liberal think tank fellow beholden only to his narrow interests. It is easy to call Obama a "pawn of ambition" when one is unburdened with presidential responsibilities or the need to balance political realities. Look, Miller's views should be heard. Obama's feet should be held to the fire. But this critique, essentially an exercise in whining, is not helpful.