>Question is, as Wojtek suggests, can any such narrative be progressive at all?
I'm having a hard time picturing it right now, but there must be some way to "narrativize" values like egalitarianism and tolerance. That quote you like from Obama about the hungry kid on the South Side is an example - some appeal to fellow-feeling (which is kind of erotic, always a prob for Americans). Ditto with some critique of capitalism that conveys the idea that the rich aren't rich because they're so clever and hard working, but because they appropriate the labor of others. I'm being verbose and non-narrative, but you know what I mean.
Doug