One of the new parlor games of the national punditocracy (some of them based right here)is waiting to see when and how Barack Obama finally alienates the left wing, even eagerly stirring the pot.

It’s a completely meaningless exercise.

People like this and this and this will never be placated, no matter what Obama does. Leftists, like Rightists, are purists. If you’re not with them 100 percent on their latest crusade, then you’re against them and deserving of attack.

Looking for splits between Obama and the far Left might be an entertaining diversion, but it signifies absolutely nothing about how Obama is doing now and predicts zip about his future.

Obama is certain to not live up to expectations because so many different groups of people projected so many of their own hopes and agendas on him after that convention speech. Even the Congressional Black Caucus got a bit of a startle the other day after they met with President Bush.

The meeting was a first for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) who left the White House wishing he had heard more from Bush instead of his [congressional] colleagues.

“I thought the caucus members made some powerful points about the ongoing disparities that exist between the African American community and others,” Obama says. “It was unfortunate that the president didn’t have the time in this meeting to respond forcefully to those comments.”

Ouch.

I’ve known Obama for years, and he’s always been his own man. If he continues this behavior in the Senate, he’ll live up to my own personal expectations and most likely have a long career in politics, despite the silly, trivial games that national thumbsuckers might contrive to fill space.