Obama and the Progressive Left

I predicted last week while discussing Obama's first round of cabinet appointments that Obama would receive more heavy criticism from the left wing of his party then he would from the right, in fact a recent survey shows that as much as 57% of Republicans are content with Obama's cabinet picks, and while 85% of Democrats in the same survey said they were content, the media seems to focus on that remaing 15%, although this is understandable because this is also the most vocal, as well as liberal, wing of the Democratic Party.
As recently as this year, especially earlier this year, in the Democratic Primaries, Obama was the darling of the progressive left, his early caucus victories (and ultimately the nomination) as well as his early fundraising numbers and grassroots volunteerism were fueled by liberal activism within the party and some can argue that he is president by and large because of this fervent support.
The progressive blog Daily Kos hailed Obama as it's "patron saint" in 2004 after his keynote address at the Democratic Convention and his subsequent Senate election, and other liberal blogs such as the Huffington Post adamantly defended him throughout the primaries -- although it was a Huffington Post reporter that broke the 'cling to guns' bombshell -- and pushed his campaign's agenda. So what went wrong? Where's the love?
Obama's relationship with the progressive left has always been symbiotic in nature, but also very cautious. He's been careful not to be seen as too close to this wing of his party so as to continue to be known as inclusive to differing opinions and more politically moderate.
For most people that have followed the elections, as well as his career closely he has never projected an air of doctrinaire liberalism, and throughout the general election he took very centrist positions on most issues, especially in the arena of national security.
Throughout the campaign Obama made distinct promises to include conservatives and Republicans "at the table" and do what he could to reach out to those that disagreed with him, and has since formed most of his transition on this very issue, bringing leading liberals, moderates, and two Republicans into his cabinet and into his administration, including current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as well as 4 of his former Presidential rivals including: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, and Tom Vilsack. So it should come as no surprise, especially to the liberal blogosphere that has followed his rise in politics so closely, when he continues to follow this trend.
It's also one thing to note that it's never too soon to be thinking about 2012, and although Rick Warren is a polarizing figure in America, he's also very popular and respected amongst religious conservatives, a group that generally rejected Obama in the election. He's especially popular amongst those that no longer adhere to the more ultra-conservative and controversial dogmas of Pastors Falwell and Hagee.
Rick Warren's rise and background is also similar to Obama's, and Warren received intense criticism from some of his church for allowing Obama to speak at an AIDS awareness rally at Warren's church in 2006 due to Obama's stance on abortion. So I imagine amongst the two of them, both cautious coalition builders, there is a sense of shared purpose, if not shared opinion. (Warren also defended Jeremiah Wright calling him a "good pastor" at one point.)
One last point to be made is that if Obama lurched the country in a more left-ward direction, as maybe his predecessor did in his early administration with a more right-ward tilt, it would cause not only a logjam in congress, but also infighting amongst his own party which could prove disastrous politically for not only his legacy as president, but also for the midterm elections of 2010 and his own re-election in 2012. Something I don't think even the most brazen liberal would support.