One would have to be blind and deaf to not notice that there is a progressive revolt against President Obama over his agreement to extend the Bush era tax cuts to the richest Americans. Many people on Facebook seem to be expressing venomous anger and I’ve heard of some progressive leaders stating that unless Obama retreats on this issue, they will seek to nominate a more progressive candidate in 2012. (Michael Moore made comments to this effect on his last appearance on the Larry King show.)

My first take was that this was pretty damaging for Obama. I’ve always seen him as something of a centrist Democrat, but there’s no doubt he needs ample support from progressives and the liberal left to maintain his agenda and get elected.

However, one thing dawned on me today: the ire of progressive towards Obama goes a lot way to deflate accusations from the right (and similar concerns on the part of independents) that Obama is secretly beholden to his Marxist college professors and is initiating a stealth campaign to turn America into a socialist hellhole. If he is, as many of his conservative detractors allege, a Communist in disguise (a Muslim one at that), then why do so many on the far left, who would love to see a Communist America, hate him?

I’m not unconvinced that, when Obama’s advisers made the case that supporting tax cuts for the rich would anger the left, he saw this as a feature, not a bug.

Of course, it’s a delicate dance. If Obama angers the left too much, they may very well gather around an insurgent presidential candidate in 2012, splitting the vote, and handing victory to a Republican. This would be incredibly stupid thing for progressives to do, but they’ve done it before (see Nader, Ralph.)