The left in this country and elsewhere persists because of a fanatical strain in the DNA. It explains their disproportionate influence despite having only a fifth of the voters in a center-right country. The left hangs in there regardless of the mercurial public. If they lose one, they figure they’ve got a good shot at the next go around because no one can match the fervor of their convictions. The old Communist cadres took control of organizations by sticking out meetings to the last. When others had gone home to their lives, the Communists were still there for the crucial vote on policies and leadership. Bill Clinton made a sharp rightward pivot after Hillarycare failed, but he had eight years of experience as a governor who had to make accommodations with conservatives. Obama has no such experience, no experience, really, in anything but speechifying, which is what community organizing is all about. Beyond that, he is a pure ideologue willing to do whatever it takes to “transform” the country according to a socialist blueprint.