Marvin writes that he hasn’t been inspired to do much blogging lately, partly because things are so much better than they were a few years ago:

Politically, everything’s coming up roses. Brick by brick, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress are laying the foundation for a progressive future.

I think a lot of liberal bloggers, or even just non-right-wing ones, have had trouble finding their voice during these first months of the new administration. During the Bush years, outrage came easy since so much of what the administration was doing was simply egregious.

With the Obama Administration though, things are a little more subtle. There has undoubtedly been progress on several fronts: the disavowal of torture, the beginnings of a withdrawal from Iraq, a re-evaluation of our policy of prisoner detainment, a return to a more multilateral foreign policy, the first steps toward a rational policy on climate change, and moves toward long-needed health care reform.

At the same time, though, there’s plenty to criticize. But it’s usually along the lines that the administration isn’t going far enough: no formal move yet to hold people accountable for the torture regime, uncertainty about when or if a full withdrawal from Iraq will occur, elements of an unacceptable prisoner detainee policy still in place, a cap-and-trade bill whose emission targets are well below what the most current science says we need to stave off catastrophic climate change, and a health care reform bill that looks good in that it provides a public option for people who can’t afford insurance, but may not do enough to control costs and may well be gutted by insurance industry lobbyists before it becomes law. Add to this bailouts to banks that have been criticized by both the Right and the Left and a “surge” in Afghanistan with an unclear mission.

That’s a more complicated message than the full-throated opposition the Bush Administration evoked. Unfortunately, it’s much easier (and more fun) to write posts mocking and criticizing the right-wing rump of the GOP than to provide constructive criticism of the new administration. The “Go team!” mentality is alive and well in the blogosphere.