The balance needs to be different this time.

[Ken Burch]

We have to find a way to both be loyal to our ticket and work hard for it, and yet at the same time expect it to be loyal to be us and what we stand for. I'm not sure exactly how this is to be achieved, but we need to avoid either asking too much from our nominee or asking nothing at all. This is a thread to talk about how to strike that balance.

[BzaDem]

1. Hold him accountable once he is in the office he is running for.

If you don't like what he does, let him know, and if you still don't like him, don't support his primary bid for re-election. (Look what happened in 1980.)

In terms of what he does to get elected, you should realize that much of what he has to do is an artifact of our two-party representative governmental system in this country. Withholding any bit of support from Obama simply helps McCain in our system. The time to squabble within the Democratic party is during primary season, not during general election season. The Republicans figured this out long ago, and that's why they have won the last 7/10 presidential elections. If you don't like the candidate, it is your responsibility in the primary season to vote for another candidate, and if that other candidate doesn't win, that just means your views don't represent the views of the majority of the Democratic party.