Is Obama A Liberal?

[Prophet 451]

I'm seeing a lot of complaining about the budget deal right now. So here's a simple question, do you consider Obama a liberal? Feel free to explain your answer (or not) if you like.

24 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes
	0 (0%)
	No, he's a moderate
	0 (0%)
	No, he's a conservative
	1 (4%)
	No, he's centre-right
	17 (71%)
	No, he's centre-left
	2 (8%)
	He's a Communist
	0 (0%)
	He's a Fascist
	0 (0%)
	He's a Socialist
	0 (0%)
	Other
	1 (4%)
	But why is the rum gone?
	3 (13%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Brigid]

1. Nope

I don't know what he is anymore.

[NOVA_Dem]

2. He said he considers himself a moderate republican. Check the tape:

[hifiguy]

5. He's to the right of Nixon.

Though Nixon was ever an opportunist and never an ideologue. But he is definitely to the right of Nixon. Eisenhower, too.

[LondonReign2]

7. Yes, to both of these self-declared descriptions

Yet, I've actually had the pom-pom squad on here tell me Obama was wrong about his own self descriptions!

[hifiguy]

12. The truth is what it is.

Some choose to queue up for more Kool-Aid. Not this cowboy. Not any more. And I had such high hopes in 2008.

[moriah]

23. You're about as good at misqouting as Fox News, here... n/t

[cyberswede]

3. Not at all. nt

[unblock]

4. depends on what the meaning of "is" is.

i think he might, years from now, in his memoirs, say that he was always a liberal at heart and tried to be as liberal as he thought he could get away with.

however, in practice, he's a pragmatist who stays within the range of what he thinks the prevailing political climate is; as such, he has presided as a center-right president. due to the state of the media and of campaign finance, it's understandable that he might have concluded that he couldn't win or effectively preside as an outright liberal.

of course, one could certainly argue that what's in his heart hardly matters if he tells no one until well after he retires. so, i voted for "center-right".

[TheBlackAdder]

6. He's Center-Right, just not as hawkish as Hillary. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Exactly, which is why I don't support her either. n/t

[Skittles]

8. honestly, that is a fucking insult

hell NO

[Xyzse]

9. He's not. He's much further to the Right than I am.

I considered myself a moderate, but in recent years what I thought was moderate is now considered Far Left Liberal.

Makes me quite a bit concerned about that by the way.

Depending on how I am now categorized, Obama could either be at the center, center right, or conservative.
Actually, strike the conservative part... Obama is not stupid, and I now equate conservative with stupid.

[whatchamacallit]

11. He liberally supports the status quo n/t

[BillZBubb]

13. No doubt right of center.

We've seen examples over and over.

[polichick]

14. Where's "Wall Street tool?"

[benz380]

17. Corporatist?

[polichick]

19. Yes, that would be the polite version.

[bigwillq]

15. I consider him to be a moderate (nt)

[sendero]

16. No...

.... he just plays one on TV.

[Wounded Bear]

18. You misspelled "center"...

But, yeah, he's pretty much center-right from a historical perspective. He reflects the right-ward movement of American politics in general. Our choices of late have been that, between far right and center right. I've always thought of myself as being pretty centrist, but the center has shoved so far right, they seem comfortable labeling me a screaming liberal. And there's no push back from the media in all this.

[benz380]

21. Isn't "centre" also correct?

[Wounded Bear]

22. If you live in England...

or maybe Canada.

It's un-American, though.

[Prophet 451]

33. In my defence, I'm British

[True Blue Door]

20. Are YOU a liberal?

I don't buy the results of that poll for one moment. Pure troll-bait.

[NM_Birder]

24. why is the rum "always" gone .....

[bigwillq]

25. Skittles drank it all.

[grasswire]

26. I see an ass kicking in your future.... nt

[bigwillq]

27. Skittles is all talk.

[grasswire]

28. ok

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

29. I can't believe

9 people think he is...........

[Derek V]

30. Ugh!

[Lionel Mandrake]

31. It's unclear what the word "Liberal" means these days.

Like most people, Obama is left of center on some issues and right of center on other issues.

It's simplistic to suppose that all politicians, or all people, can be placed on a continuum from Left to Right. That's like belief in the Great Chain of Being, a concept which, like belief in diabolical witchcraft, is evident in Shakespeare's MacBeth.

The great chain of being (Latin: scala naturae, literally "ladder/stair-way of nature&quot , is a concept derived from Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Proclus; further developed during the Middle Ages, it reached full expression in early modern Neoplatonism.[1] [2] It details a strict, religious hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to have been decreed by God. The chain starts from God and progresses downward to angels, demons (fallen/renegade angels), stars, moon, kings, princes, nobles, men, wild animals, domesticated animals, trees, other plants, precious stones, precious metals, and other minerals.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being

Just as a single continuum is inadequate to describe the variety of animals, plants, minerals, etc., a single continuum is inadequate to describe the variety of political views.

[LittleBlue]

32. There are still people who think he's a liberal?

[hunter]

34. He's a competent centrist.

"Center" in the USA isn't anything to brag about, since 35 to 40% of our population are mass media driven meme-bots, but competent is much better than meat puppet Reagan/Bush/Bush, or God forbid, McCain and Romney.