But here is something to consider: It’s the country — not the system — that’s stacked against liberals and progressives.

From 1989 (after Reagan’s presidency) to now, the most stable data in the NBC/WSJ poll has been that roughly one-fifth of the country identifies as being liberal, while one-third identifies being conservative. Even in 2008, when Obama decisively won the presidency, the average in the poll was 25% liberal, 36% conservative. And in 1996, when Bill Clinton easily won re-election, it was 22% liberal, 34% conservative.

For Democrats, this means that if they want to win national elections, they need to win about 60% of the self-described moderate vote — which Obama did in ’08 and congressional Dems did in ’06, per the exit polls. By comparison, however, John Kerry got 54% of the moderate vote in 2004.

So the bigger question for Democrats and liberals shouldn’t be: “Why isn’t Obama’s presidency more progressive?” Instead, it should be: “Why isn’t the country more progressive?”