So, let me be clear: what set me into panic mode was not the discussions about how the limit would be raised, but the discussions about whether it would be raised at all with opposition from a significant amount of people. That turned the idea of raising the limit into a complete non-starter since it requires a hard fork, despite the fact that changing the maximum block size has been the plan since the very beginning.
Even worse, we have prominent devs playing fast and loose with the truth, claiming that raising the limit was never the plan when they posted in the same threads in which it is made clear that it was the plan.
Jeff's input on this topic and his actions and statements on other topics is giving me a lot of hope for Bitcoin.
A while ago I was scanning some older conversations which occurred after Satoshi exited. Seemed like certain of the main devs (Gavin and Mike I think) were sort of scratching their heads and shrugging at Satoshi's fixation on retaining a light weight system. Clearly there have been differences which probably go back to day one.
I find it neither surprising nor unhealthy that the various primary developers have different ideas about what is important. Like I said in the conversations about the Bitcoin Foundation, it is important to me as a community member to have visibility into the workings of the 'core team' such that I can take actions which are appropriate for me as situations arise.