It's hard to sustain activism

I agree with Matthew Yglesias that progressive activists are depressed -- not so much in terms of literal mood, but in terms of the sense of hope that anything can be accomplished. The Obama record has been mixed and on many fronts disappointing, and onetime (or potential) activists are simply redirecting their energies into parts of their lives more likely to reward the investment. Perhaps large-scale movements inevitably run out of steam after a few years, and perhaps the absence of Bush-fueled rage has speeded that deflation, but I think that there are still a lot of folks who would get back in the trenches if something made them think it would make a difference. There's just not a lot of tangible evidence out there to encourage them...