It's easy to be disappointed in Obama if you are a liberal and an atheist. I had hoped for considerably more than he has so far delivered. But on reflection I still have to admire him and in fact he may be playing the game about as well as it can be played from my point of view. I believe that Obama has at least three ways of looking at any important political question. First, he considers whether a particular decision of his will be likely to assure his retention of power and avoid controversy that undermines that power. That is to be expected of any politician, and if he does not think of a thing that way Rahm Emanuel will. Second, Obama considers whether his aims are attainable in the short run. In other words, he sees politics as the art of the possible and he plays that game very well. He likes to get as many people on board a decision of his as possible to alienate as few as possible and retain a firm grasp on power. Third, I believe that he also has a longer term view of some important ideas and sees that opposition to these is rather firmly entrenched and must be dug out bit by bit over time. He is a long-term gradualist because that is the way to work around the curmudgeons and power-holding exploiters.
If I am right, then the way to get him to move or continue to move in the right direction is to keep up a moderate persistant pressure over a long period of time.
Avoid the riot, embrace the reminder, and endure. If he knows we're out here and we have political power, which we do, he will be astute enough a politician to avoid slapping us in the face. We must strive to become part of the politically correct scene. A slight to an atheist must elicit a strong reaction and a demand for an apology.