That’s supposed to be, as I explain, Obama’s “hidden advantage.” . He won’t have any primary opposition that might weaken him. There’s a lot to say, but it is true that nobody doubts that Obama is a real Progressive, just as nobody doubted that Reagan is a real conservative. That might make his situation more similar to Reagan’s in 1983 than to Ford’s or Carter’s or Bush the elder’s. But there are differences too, as I also explain.