The existence and success of the Tea Party movement is evidence of the right admitting it was wrong about many big government policies or Bush 43 and other Republicans. Typically, Tea Partiers are highly critical of both Obama and Bush. The shift toward Obama may be evidence that the left determined Bill Clinton and Blue Dog Democrats strayed too far from progressive ideals.
I am neither a conservative nor progressive, but I know people on both ends of the ideological spectrum who are fixed in their ways. Moderates are often amenable to compromise, but they lack principles. They'll bend to whoever convinces them their way is best, then they'll bend the other way for the next election after witnessing how idiotic the last big government policies were. Repeat ad infinitum.
There's no easy solution when people on both left and right assume societal problems can be solved only by having government force everyone to do things one way. Anger on both left and right has risen over the years as the US have become more of a forced collective, the policies of which fluctuate depending on which collective masters are in power at the moment.
