People on the left and the right are having troubles labeling Obama. Well, maybe we should get over our need smack labels on people. Yes, there are those who are extreme right, no budging, and the same on the left.
But perhaps Obama doesn't adhere hard and fast to any ideology. When someone thinks independently, everyone gets confused.
Right now, we have the left trying to make sure Obama follows suit and we have the right doing everything they can to not necessarily help McCain win, but to help Obama lose. But I think most Americans are more broad-based in their thinking and don't subscribe to the lefty righty stuff. Maybe that's why some of us find Obama so appealing. Imagine, a president who could recognize a good idea from the right and the left. Isn't that refreshing.
WaPo: 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. Matt Stoller, editor of
OpenLeft.com, said that an Obama win in November would be a victory for "centrist government," adding: "Progressives are going to have to organize for progressive values."
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.
Peter Wehner, a former Bush administration official who is now at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, considers Obama someone who can move his party to new places on race and religion. But on policy, he sees him as conventionally liberal. "The Democratic Party today is quite liberal, and Obama, if anything, will deepen the roots of its liberalism," he said.
