Movement conservatives did not like Richard Nixon. His campaign had called him "The One" but to the National Review crowd of 1968 Ronald Reagan was "The One." Maybe Bill Buckley. So Nixon’s enemies list was long, and had names from both right and left, as he selected his cabinet that winter, and so the program which emerged frustrated conservatives terribly.
Having been weakened on his right flank Nixon gave in on the left. It was Richard Nixon who created the EPA, Nixon who created OSHA 
and Nixon who created the CPSC. Nixon became the liberal apotheosis, extending the gains of the Great Society, making many permanent, signing new regulatory protections into law. He even appointed Harry Blackmun to the Supreme Court.
Franklin Roosevelt, on the other hand, was given permission by his supporters to shore up his right flank, on his own. He brought in conservative bankers like Jesse Jones, former swindlers like Joe Kennedy. This left him free to enact sweeping reforms, like Social Security, the regulatory structure the Bushies tore down (to their eternal regret), and all the rest of it.
Nixon failed. Roosevelt succeeded. So which leader are the Netroots treating Barack Obama like today?
It was Barack Obama who cleared the way for Joe Lieberman keeping his chairmanship.
So when you swear revenge on Lieberman you’re really attacking Obama.
And it is Barack Obama who is bringing ex-Clintonites into
his cabinet, because we need experienced executives to shake up the
bureaucracy and get it flying right again.
This doesn’t mean he’s dissing you, Jane. Or you, Kos. Or you, Howie.
You are all vital elements in his coalition. But that coalition needs
to be broad and deep, a consensus for meaningful change, if programs
big enough to deal with our real crisis are to be passed and (most
important) implemented successfully.
With power comes responsibility, but the Netroots are acting like
that’s just another word. It isn’t. It will become, over the next
several years, the defining difference between the parties, the final
brick that makes the incoming Democratic government unassailable, and
which will eventually force Republicans to reform if they’re to be taken seriously again.
That’s the game. It’s not who has what now. It’s where we are four
years from now, and eight years from now, and whether our children even
have a habitable planet 50 years from now.
It’s not about the Netroots’ ego. This man has our back. This is not
just the first African-American President. This will be, in just two
months, the President of the United States, the leader of the free
world.
Start giving him your back. Don’t push him any further right than he needs to go in order to prevail. History says you won’t be sorry.
“Nixon failed. Roosevelt succeeded”
And Roosevelt’s successes were … what exactly? In 1939 there were still 10 million unemployed. Despite the hagiography, and the historical newsreel images of breadlines followed by damn building, we were in a depression in 1933 when he was elected, and we remained in a depression until, seven years later, Adolf Hitler started providing employment to millions of American munitions workers.
“Nixon failed. Roosevelt succeeded”
And Roosevelt’s successes were … what exactly? In 1939 there were still 10 million unemployed. Despite the hagiography, and the historical newsreel images of breadlines followed by damn building, we were in a depression in 1933 when he was elected, and we remained in a depression until, seven years later, Adolf Hitler started providing employment to millions of American munitions workers.