I suppose it is.
Let's say, then, that Obama stood with the forces of what most Americans would call progress. America, on the issues, is a center-left nation. We believe in government solutions to common problems. Obama is one of us.
I'd agree that America was a center left nation in late 2008. But I suspect it will lurch toward center right in either 2012 or 2016. And then it will lurch back again. It always has.
Very rare for one party to have the POTUS for 3 consecutive terms. And with the destructive nature of the modern media, I would argue that 3 term parties are going to become even rarer.
Setting-aside politics, I don't see any fundamental change in American attitudes toward the issues. We will remain center-left and perhaps become moreso. The problems we face can't be solved by conservative policies although we can be deceived by conservative politicians.
I thought you were setting aside politics?
Well, I think you're wrong to write off all conservative policies. As with Democrat policies, there's good and bad.
Without Republican policy to counteract it, Democrat policy would shift further left which IMO is the thin end of the wedge. Too much of one extreme is as bad as too much of another.