Revelations of the government’s secret surveillance programs, an aggressive crackdown on government leakers, increased use of drones for killing terrorists overseas, and the failure to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are all sore points with the crowd here at Netroots Nation, the largest annual gathering of liberal activists in the country. …

But the prevailing sentiment among rank-and-file activists here was much more pragmatic. They said that while they may be disappointed in some things, they still support the president, because he agrees with them on a majority of issues — from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the discontinuation of “torture” tactics, as well as passage of the health-care law, the push for immigration reform and support for same-sex marriage. …

One panel Friday, hosted by Amnesty International USA, highlighted some of the criticism, mostly on Guantanamo.

“I was a big believer in hope and change as of May 2009, when he [Obama] talked about our values and principals,” said Morris Davis, a former Air Force colonel and prosecutor at Guantanamo under former President George W. Bush. “I was extraordinarily optimistic when he gave this talk, and disappointed a few months later, he began to backpedal.”