The left is going crazy, and they're going crazy because their guy, suddenly, doesn't seem to be "their guy" any more. Given his recent changes of position on issues, Obama is coming across as a died in the wool Neo-con convert than a liberal.
Barack Obama has his base in an uproar. With his
recent reversals on such key issues as FISA, campaign contributions, and the Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment, many on the left are, seemingly, suffering from the effects of political whiplash as they watch their candidate abandon them on the issues that the deem to be important. The most recent issue change, the war in Iraq and the withdrawal of U.S. forces, is sending the left into a near frenzy as they try to figure out what, exactly, is going on with Obama.
There is a very simple answer, and it's one that Hillary Clinton understood and tried to make work earlier than Obama; liberals don't bring in the numbers of voters that moderates do. And now Barack Obama, showing himself to be the politician rather than the statesman, has decided to give his image a makeover by attempting to come across as more appealing to a more moderate voting group.
We are not shocked when a candidate moves to the center for the general election. But Mr. Obama’s shifts are striking because he was the candidate who proposed to change the face of politics, the man of passionate convictions who did not play old political games.
There are still vital differences between Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain on issues like the war in Iraq, taxes, health care and Supreme Court nominations. We don’t want any “redefining” on these big questions. This country needs change it can believe in.
Despite evidence that the die-hards still realize the true nature of Obama, as the Marxist section of Obama's website continues to show, other left leaning supporters are not so sure. One observer says that the only question that would be raised where Obama to announce Dick Cheney as his running mate would be that of "what took you so long?" Left wing outlets have been up in arms about the seeming changes of stance, most notably Ariana Huffington (a usual), but Republicans are a bit more jaundiced of their view of the changes of the candidate of change.
Conservatives, meanwhile, led by John McCain's Republican campaign, say that the presumptive Democratic nominee's pivot shows that, for all his talk of offering a new kind of politics, he is really just another cynical politician who will say anything to get elected.
I suspect that all this worries Mr Obama not at all. The louder the Left complains, the deeper the satisfaction at Obama headquarters.
Can you remember a time in, say the past 100 years, when the American people have rejected a presidential candidate because they thought that he was insufficiently left-wing? As for conservatives, they should be cheering Mr Obama, not complaining.
Political observers should have expected this sort of softening on the issues of the hard left by Obama. Between now and November, Obama has to make himself as attractive to moderate candidates as possible without alienating his left wing base in the process. It's a tricky dance, and if the dance continues as it has this week, the left can begin to look for steel toed dance shoes. Their partner is going to continue to step on their toes on the dance floor.
The attempt at beginning a swooning of moderate voters has come across as too much, too fast, all at the same time, and with the sincerity of a porcupine attempting to court a balloon. If Obama isn't careful, the balloon is going to pop.
Perhaps it isn't rock star appeal, but rather a fatal charm behind a whiplash smile?
