Is Obama Killing Off The Netroots?

One reader thinks so:

I think the rise of Barack Obama has led to the decline of some left-leaning blogs. Even if Sen. Obama does not get the Democratic nomination, he has altered how many people have come to view politics and partisanship in this country. His candidacy is a repudiation of those on the far-left (and the right) who merely play to the fringe instead of the whole country.

Being fairly young, the politics that I've witnessed with Clinton and now with Bush represent a strong disconnect from where government should be focused. This has been brought up before, but you can hear the differences in how the candidates in the Democratic race address audiences, the "me" of Hillary Clinton, the "them" of John Edwards, the "we" of Barack Obama. The left-leaning blogs failed to pivot from the "them" mentality of before the 2006 elections, into a new voice and role in the (albeit slim) majority. The Democrats have shown that even with some advantages legislatively, there has been little success at implementation.

I think there's a certain hunger, especially with younger Americans, for some centrality in politics. I think Sen. Obama recognizes that he cannot change the country with 51% as President Bush has tried, and failed, to do.  Many still have the anger as to what has happened to this country under Bush, but most left-leaning bloggers do not realize that the same razor-thin majority that Bush wielded will have the same result with a Democratic President--inaction, inefficiency, and ineptitude. To wit: "If 50 percent of the turnout is evangelical Christians, it would be very difficult for us to finish first in that kind of situation," Doug Gross, [the chairman of Mitt Romney’s campaign in Iowa], said. "In that instance, I’d feel very good about a nice, strong second-place finish." Mitt Romney's attempts to dial back expectations aren't too convincing.