Obama's Ideology Difficult to Pinpoint: Dems Decry Move Toward Middle, but GOP Still Sees a Liberal

[DeepModem Mom]

WP, pg.1: ANALYSIS
Obama's Ideology Proving Difficult to Pinpoint
Democrats Decry a Move Toward Middle, but Republicans Still See a Liberal
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page A01


Sen. Barack Obama is flanked by reporters and security personnel as he leaves the Capitol briefly after one of many votes, including one on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (Linda Davidson/WP)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama put himself on the opposite side of his party's leadership in the Senate yesterday by reversing course to support a compromise intelligence surveillance bill. His vote was the most dramatic in a series of moves toward the middle that have focused new attention on where he stands and where he would take the country....One factor in Obama's success has been his ability to confound both left and right. But while that may be a measure of a skillful politician determined to win a general election, it has left unanswered important questions about his core principles and his presidential priorities. How well he answers them over the coming months will determine the outcome of his race against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Statements he has made over the past month have ignited a debate about who Obama is ideologically. His current policy positions have convinced some progressives that he is not one of them....Republicans see a different Obama. The National Journal rated him the most liberal member of the Senate last year. His advisers say the rating system is faulty, but McCain and other Republicans say it is an accurate reflection of Obama's political philosophy....The reality is that Obama is some of all those things. His strong opposition to the Iraq war helped draw support from the left in the primary elections. But he insisted Tuesday that he long has held many positions that are moderate rather than liberal....

***

Although Clinton and Bush challenged some party orthodoxy in their first presidential campaigns, Obama has been far more reluctant to do so. And at this point, no signature policy proposal is universally regarded as distinctive in defining his politics or philosophy. What then constitutes Obama-ism? As one Democratic strategist put it: "It's pretty clear what it isn't, but it isn't yet clear what it is."...

***

Heather Higginbottom, Obama's domestic policy director....said Obama's policy priorities begin with Iraq and the Middle East. Obama said last week that he remains committed to the idea of removing all combat troops in about 16 months, should he assume the presidency. Domestically, Obama has proposed policies for stimulating the economy and helping struggling families, for dealing with global warming and U.S. dependence on foreign oil and for achieving near-universal health-care coverage....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902368.html

[rudy23]

1. He's following the Gore/Kerry blueprint for failure: satisfy none of the people none of the time

Alienate the left in order to kiss up to the right, then get slammed by the right for being duplicitous, AND for still being too liberal.

[TwilightGardener]

2. His ideology, as per Gail Collins: Pragmatic and "anti-dumb". Thank you, Gail.

[democrattotheend]

6. Pragmatic and anti-dumb. I like that.

[depakid]

9. Gail Collins apparently ignores the results of the past decade and a half

of "pragmatic" "anti-dumb" campaigns.

No matter what he does, he'll be "ultra-liberal" to the far right -and as things are going, a flip flopper to independents and progressives.

Ms. Collins seems to think that backpeddling on NAFTA is a wise idea (i.e. anti-dumb) when the rust belt is the key to the election. Not sure what to say to that... other than it must have pleased her senior editors.

[MarjorieG]

10. Matter of emphasis only. Always wants to renegotiate labor and environment concerns.

[depakid]

11. My point isn't directed at trade per se -but at Collins' characterization

of the sorts of things that constitute "anti-dumb."

[baldguy]

3. He's black & he's not insane - therefor he's a "liberal"

:sarcasm:

[truthisfreedom]

4. He's brilliant and I'm voting for him. And so are most of the people I know.

And I'm ashamed at the number of anti-Obama comments I see in DU. We need to clean this shit up, people. If you don't want to support Obama, honestly, get the f*** out of this forum and go whine somewhere else.

Our focus here should be on positive ideas to support Obama and collecting devastating facts about mclame to bury his campaign.

[democrattotheend]

5. He's hard to pinpoint because he's not an ideologue

He's generally liberal but not dogmatic about it...if someone can convince him of something on the merits, he's inclined to follow the best argument regardless of where it fits on the political spectrum. Sometimes that tendency is reigned in by staff and/or political realities (like when he considered voting to confirm Roberts after being impressed by his intellect), but his inclination seems to be to hear all sides and then weigh things on the merits regardless of ideology, which is an important quality in a leader. I think he genuinely has mixed feelings about some issues or can see both sides of an issue, and that's something that I both relate to and respect. So I guess that's why I'm not as upset about his recent actions lately as some people. I disagree with him on FISA but appreciate that he allowed people to organize opposition on his website and then took the time to respond. That says to me that he is listening even if he does not always agree with us.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. I think you and I are pretty much in agreement, democrattotheend. nt

[denverbill]

7. Unlike Mr Consistantcy, John McCain, who sponsored a bill he now opposes.

And now apparently supporting the Bush tax cuts he once derided as fiscally irresponsible. Or his pandering to the Christian right who he has also derided in the past. But the mainstream media can't be bothered with those minor issues.

Yes, it's Obama who is a flip-flopper because he once opposed a bill that has now been modified and which he now supports.

I'm not pleased with Obama's votes on FISA, but his 'flip-flops' are kind of minor compared to McCain's.