Is it safe to say Obama is not liberal enough?

[TheLiberalNovelist]

I mean, with all this 'olive branch' stuff he's doing...

[Oregone]

1. I think its a legitimate "concern"

[TheLiberalNovelist]

3. I'm not 'concerned' about it

I was simply asking. Many dems have been saying that they felt betrayed. I was just trying to figure out what the attitude was here.

[MrModerate]

2. Not sure where you're going with this. For me, he could, if he chose . . .

Be lots more "liberal" -- if by that you mean attempting to implement a wide range of programs and initiatives we thought we were getting when we voted for him. As well as eliminating more of the genuinely evil leftovers from the Bush administration.

I think his play to the center has landed way to far to the right and he needs to track left to *get back* to the center.

[TheLiberalNovelist]

5. I think "liberal" may have been the wrong word to use..

Like I said above, a lot of dems felt betrayed. Just trying to figure out what others thought here.

[LakeSamish706]

4. It's an absolute concern! n/t

[NorthCarolina]

28. +1

[TheLiberalNovelist]

6. I will add this...

I agree with one of the posters above. I think Obama should stick to his guns. Get back to the left. I know he's a big bipartisanship guy, but I honestly believe we are past that point.

[DURHAM D]

14. What guns?

He doesn't have any liberal tendencies.

[pnwmom]

7. It's unrealistic to think that someone more liberal would have made significantly

more progress.

Or that someone significantly more liberal could have been elected in the first place. Or that someone significantly more liberal could replace him in the next election, and go on to beat the Republican.

[TheLiberalNovelist]

9. True.

But like I said, he should stick to his guns, especially because of the democratic majority.

[ncteechur]

27. unfortunately it takes more than just a majority in the senate

[Egnever]

35. liberal enough for what?

[buff2]

8. He's not nearly as Liberal as I am

I love him but he's catoring to the right way too much. :hi:

[TheLiberalNovelist]

11. Agreed.

He could do much better.

[skeptical cynic]

10. Not liberal enough

And it is a serious concern.

[Sebastian Doyle]

12. Why would you want him to be?

Who would want a Liberal president? :shrug:

[Ozymanithrax]

13. Liberal enough for what???

[snake in the grass]

15. Yes, it is safe, but...

...it shouldn't be surprising, as he never ran as a liberal. I only voted for him because the alternative was not an alternative. Until the U.S. matures enough to elect someone like Kucinich, the downward spiral will continue; albeit not quite as quickly with a Democrat in office.

[HughMoran]

16. I think he's not Gummy Bear enough

...but that's just me :)

[bananas]

17. He's a conservative

http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008



US Presidential Election 2008

This chart was constructed on the basis of the speeches, public statements and , crucially, the voting records of each of the candidates. During the election campaign, we'll be tweaking their positions as, inevitably, some of them change. We'll also be adding other charts as the campaign continues.

When examining the chart it's important to note that although most of the candidates seem quite different, in substance they occupy a relatively restricted area within the universal political spectrum. Democracies with a system of proportional representation give expression to a wider range of political views. While Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader are depicted on the extreme left in an American context, they would simply be mainstream social democrats within the wider political landscape of Europe. Similarly, Obama is popularly perceived as a leftist in the United States while elsewhere in the west his record is that of a moderate conservative. For example, in the case of the death penalty he is not an uncompromising abolitionist, while mainstream conservatives in all other western democracies are deeply opposed to capital punishment. The Democratic party's presidential candidate also reneged on his commitment to oppose the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He sided with the ultra conservative bloc in the Supreme Court against the Washington DC handgun ban and for capital punishment in child rape cases. He supports President Bush's faith-based initiatives and is reported in Fortune to have said that NAFTA isn't so bad. Despite all this, some angry emailers tell us that Obama is a dangerous socialist who belongs on the extreme left of our chart. In an apparently close race, genuine leftists McKinney and Nader may attract sufficient votes from Obama to deliver McCain to the Oval Office.

<snip>

[Jennicut]

26. Actually, in the United States he is in the center.

For Europe he would be toward the right.

[OhioBlue]

18. I don't exactly know how to answer..

I would personally prefer more liberal policies and a more liberal mindset in our Country in general.

But, considering where we are.. I'm appreciate the things that this administration is accomplishing.

[babylonsister]

19. Define liberal please, and thanks, in your opinion. nt

[Sky Masterson]

20. Define "enough"

:shrug:

[ncteechur]

21. how liberal is liberal enough. I'm liberal but certainly not as liberal as some on here

should he be liberal or progressive? when does progressive go past liberal?
maybe he thinks he is liberal because he's to the left, although not far left
are all democrats supposed to be liberal? obviously there are some more conservative democrats
how about being a financial conservative and a social liberal? is that even possible?

I'm just asking.

i don't think it is as clear as you want to make it.

However, this is democratic underground, not liberal underground and the president is a democrat

[nickinSTL]

22. he was never the far-left liberal the right has tried to paint

however, the center-right method of governing so far has been a major disappointment, IMO.

His caving to Republicans over and over and giving them what THEY want, rather than what his own party (minus the DLC-types who are right there with the Repubs) wants with nothing in return, is resulting in poor legislation.

I'm really not interested in a center-right party. That's where the Repubs USED to be - and it's not where my vote is.

[ncteechur]

23. But since this is the thread, how far to the left do you think his policies could be and still pass

Congress?

Because I don't think there is a majority of very liberal senators. I wouldn't even say there are 50 very liberal senators. There are probably 35-40 pretty liberal senators and about 20 moderate to conservative democrats.

[Jackeens]

24. People who complain that he's not liberal enough....you just didn't read his books, did you?

I remember being surprised when I read them because any one supposedly familiar with him led me to believe that he was a lefty radical! In fact, he came across as a centrist, quite conservative (small 'c') on some issues, moderate on others, liberal on some. So, whenever I read anyone complaining that he's not left enough I think....there goes another soul who didn't read his books. His presidency is a mirror of the man in those books. Whether you like that man is another issue. I, needless to say, do.

[depakid]

25. It's safe to say that if you're a progressive interest group, you'd better watch your back

and keep the political pressure on the administration.

[NorthCarolina]

29. History may well identify Obama as

the greatest Republican President of the 21st century. It's safe to say that Bill Clinton earned that honor for the 20th century.

[Jennicut]

30. Which Republican President? More like Reagan?

Or more like Ike? Ike and even Nixon would be laughed out of the current Rethug party. I think it started with Reagan. He shifted the Rethug party to the extreme right.

[political_Dem]

31. I still can't believe that the right thinks that the POTUS is socialist or communist.

He's far from both of these political philosophies. He's quite capitalistic (especially with the news about the oil drilling).

However, the POTUS has got to realize that befriending the RNC only amounts to no good. After all, the RNC stabs their own in the back when they aren't useful anymore. So, what makes Mr. Obama think that he can be friends with those creeps?

[mkultra]

34. meanwhile, a few hear wish he was

[Jakes Progress]

32. You can leave off the last word in the title.

[old mark]

33. In many ways he reminds me of Nixon - there seem to be a lot of shared

ideas there. I agree, the right's insisting he is a socialist is just plain ignorance - almost a joke.

If Obama is a socialist, I am Chairman Mao.

mark