Instead of yielding to the feelings of the moment, they kept faith with those who supported them precisely because of their promises to change the direction of the country. And change the country they did.

Say what you will about the new health-care law. It was a response to (how easily we forget) a widely held sentiment that our health system was broken, that too many of us lacked coverage or feared we might lose it. The final product was a start in addressing these anxieties…

But the president’s accomplishments were possible only because a group of younger, largely unsung politicians – the infantry of political change – refused to think only about polls, politics and their personal ambitions. Obama’s Orphans deserve to take a bow.