Two Left Feet
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, February 01, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Politics: When Ted Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama, he was symbolically passing the Kennedy torch. But it was Ted's torch of liberalism, not the JFK torch of tax cuts and a fervent defense of freedom.
That the torch would be passed to Obama is fitting, for he's done something few thought possible — compile a record more liberal than Ted's. National Journal's analysis of how senators aligned across the political spectrum in 2007 shows Illinois' junior senator going from the 16th most liberal senator in his first year in the Senate to 10th in 2006 to the front of the line.
As the mainstream media says of those who shift left over time, he has "grown" in office.
His opponent for the 2008 Democratic nomination has also moved to the left, going from the 32nd most liberal senator in 2006 to 16th. And on most issues, as someone once put it, there's not a dime's worth of difference. National Journal reports that of the 267 measures on which both Obama and Hillary Clinton cast votes in 2007, they differed on only 10.
The public image Obama's handlers put forward is of a moderate offering "hope" and "change." "He's the one candidate," says campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki, "who's shown his ability to appeal to Republicans and the ability to appeal to independents."
Well, you can fool some of the people some of the time.
Psaki adds: "Part of the reason he's appealing to some Republicans and independents is that he has that authenticity."
National Journal says he's such an authentic liberal, his picture should appear in the dictionary, replacing Ted's as an illustration for the word.
When he was nominated for the moderate Democratic Leadership Committee list of 100 rising stars in 2004, Obama bristled at the suggestion he was a "mainstream" Democrat. In a letter to the magazine Black Commentator, he said he "did not view such inclusion as an endorsement on my part of the DLC platform."
Obama has voted against private gun ownership, mandatory sentencing and the death penalty. He voted no on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. He says he would have voted no to authorize going to war in Iraq. He has voted against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but supports mandated ethanol use and raising fuel economy standards.
He's been described as the Rodney King of politics, asking why we can't just all get along and touting his ability to "bridge the divide." But on the most divisive issue of this election cycle, the war in Iraq, he's firmly on the side of those who want to cut and run. While the likes of Rep. John Murtha have judged the surge a success, Obama remains a determined white-flag Democrat.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton responded to the National Journal honor by saying, "Only in Washington can you get falsely attacked for being like Reagan one week and labeled the most liberal the next."
Well, we know Obama is no Ronald Reagan. More likely, he's a combination of Jimmy Carter and Neville Chamberlain. As for being the No. 1 liberal, the shoe fits, Barack. Wear it. |
