So President Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, is pissed at the "professional left" for being mean to Obama over his wavering and waffling on issues such as gay marriage, the public option, closing Guantanamo, and so on. Among other things, Gibbs recently said of the "professional left":

They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we’ve eliminated the Pentagon. That’s not reality... They wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president.

Whatever Gibbs was going for with this—an appeal to independents? outreach to the professional right? a body check to critics?—and however much it might sting those who pride themselves on being part of the loyal opposition (or rankle those who don't like feeling Sister Souljahed), I'm with Ezra Klein in thinking that, in the end, none of this matters much. The bottom line:

According to Gallup, Obama is at 81 percent among self-described Democrats and 76 percent among self-described liberals.

To put a more local spin on that fundamental fact: Democratic Senator Patty Murray is currently charging $500 to $1,000 for tickets to her Seattle fundraiser with Obama on Aug. 17.

Because she can.

Because it's the 81 percent that buys those tickets, for the most part. Not the so-called "professional left." When it comes to Obama, the 81 percent is still buying it.