A sleeping giant has been awakened

[brentspeak]

45. Not really

Obama was reelected with a 50% personal approval rating. That's par for the course, as no President has ever failed to be reelected when he had at minimum a 50% approval. So, it shouldn't be a great surprise Obama beat Romney.

Furthermore, while three progressives were newly elected to the Senate (Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, and Martin Heinrich), they were elected in blue or somewhat blue states; there was no real red-to-blue turnover during this election cycle (Scott Brown's term in Mass. being an aberration.)

Also, the GOP has solidified its presence in state legislatures that were previously Democratic -- esp. North Carolina. These states will be Republican gerrymandered for decades.

Also, the House is still Republican.

Finally, while religious right Tea Party Senate candidates Akin and Mourdock crashed-and-burned, younger, non-religious right Tea Party favorites Ted Cruz and Jeff Flake were elected. Both will severely hamper progressive legislation for years to come.

The Democrats performed a pretty good defensive rearguard action during this election cycle, but there was hardly any "progressive revolution".