When I attended John Bel Edwards’ inauguration, one of the things that really stuck out to me was the joyful mood in the air.

Nearly every face I saw was smiling and everyone seemed happy.

And why wouldn’t they be?

What could only be described as Jindal’s War on Louisiana was coming to an end at noon.

A new governor promising to put Louisiana first was being sworn in.

Personally, I felt a tinge of pride in having voted for Edwards as he spoke of a living wage, equal pay, healthcare for the working poor, and support for education in his inaugural address.

Based on the inauguration one might think the next four years will be good for the Louisiana Left.

(Left as in all those falling to the left of the political center.)

The reality, of course, is far different.

Republicans control the legislature and every state-wide elected office except for the governor.

Then there’s the budget crisis curiosity of Jindal’s 8-year-long failed presidential campaign.

And to top it all off, Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South.

So there’s probably a temptation to support Edwards no matter what or rally around him and be content with whatever successes he manages to achieve.

I certainly understand that it’s especially dangerous in politics to be overly idealistic or set your hopes too high.

After all, politics is all about compromise and making deals.

You’re never going to be totally happy.

But the Louisiana Left needs to have high expectations for Edwards.

Even while they face four years bound to be filled with constant disappointment and frustration.

Because truthfully, Edwards is a centrist, probably better described as a moderate conservative.

He hardly entered office with a mandate introducing left-leaning policies, instead campaigning on his pro-gun-and-life values and bringing back Vitter’s prostitution scandal.

None of which is to say that Edwards and most of his policies don’t deserve left-wing support.

On the contrary, they do.

He’s probably going to need as much support as possible to achieve even a fraction of his goals.

However, this also doesn’t mean the left should fall into the trap of just accepting Edwards or trying to defend and support him at every turn.

Rather, the Left need to set the bar higher for Edwards because he needs to be pushed.

His inaugural address laid out a great groundwork, but it can be built on.

A true living wage instead of a mere “modest increase”.

The passage of an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that bars employers from firing people based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Some form of meaningful criminal justice reform.

These are just scratching the surface, but they’re  goals that are only possible if Edwards is pushed.

It’s going to be an uphill battle to be sure.

Louisiana is, after all, a rather right-wing state, and Jindal’s Reign of Error will cause problems in Louisiana for years to come.

But the left needs to do all it can to push Edwards to be more ambitious.

Otherwise, he won’t.