Lot's of talk here of Obama moving to the center, etc. Tons of great thinkers and writers here!

When I lived in the states, I can reasonably suspect that I was to the left of about 85% of the voting population. In my adopted country, I estimate that am about 85% to the right of the voting population. The interesting thing is that my views on major issues have not changed at all. This came as quite a shock to me. Not only have I observed this in my adopted country, but I would place myself right of center in nearly every country I travel to.

My point is, "the center" in the USA has moved so far to the right that, well, the right is simply off the typical and measureable scale. Everything is realative I suppose, but there are too many of us who have not moved to the brink of the right edge.

I am not convinced that the majority of the USA population has moved as far right as the Democratic leadership and Obama believe. Fear, enjoyned in boogymen such as "the gays" & "terrorists" like Frank Rich of NYT points out are wearing very thin. People can only maintain a state of heightened fear for so long, and then, even if the fear continues, normalizes. Think of the last scary movie you saw....or the last time you cried. Humans can only sustain such emotions for only so long.

So here are the main Republican talking points remaining and IMHO where most citizens are:

1. Terrorisism:....Yea, we are all against it, so what?, old news, a done deal, we all go through airport security checks don't we?, so we are "safe". No terrorist has destroyed my Wallmart.

2. The War: What war? Most Americans have moved way on past, as it does not affect them in the least. No body bags, no parades for the returning soldiers, no draft. Hell, even the MSM has moved on. It bores people. Hollywood war movies are fine for 180 minutes, but the particular neuances of war are way to complicated to interest or comprehend for most Americans.

3. Same sex marrigae and "the gays": So what? Most Americans have a yawning interest. Even the "centrist" evangelicals are moving on. They realize that the gays have not infiltrated their marriages or affected them in the least. Their town halls were not over run by gays over the last 8 years, so they don't care.

4. Taxes and the economy: My taxes are about the same, but my buying power sucks. My house is worth less snd so is my annual salary. The rich are getting richer...What have the Republicans done for ME???

It is time for the body politic here to face up to its worst fears and embrace reality. Obama, as evidenced by his move to the far right this past week, is not a leader, nothing new or or unique, but merely another mediocre follower of comtemporary political strategy....and all that Rovian/Clintonian strategy is now very outdated. His campaign theme message WAS centrist, unfortunately, he is now tacking squarely into right territory, and to the far right on several issues such as FISA.

Obama has forsaken the center and the center left, once again to court the extreme right. He has already lost many as evidenced by the talk here. I expect, if he keeps it up, he will loose enough votes to ensure another Republican victory.

WHY, oh WHY? I suspect most of our civil liberties and the USA are on life support. Not sure how much more of an insult our constitution can take before it caves.

Where do they cook this stuff up anyway? Oh yes, the leftist candidate really should now of course, bow down and acknowledge his opponent's agenda, shouldn't he, having finally secured the nomination?!

As McSame tries to find new ways to capitulate from any previous chance opposition to the Bush Administration -- apparently R's are reading from a different strategy book and feel a move ever rightward from the primaries, is in order.

I think Obama is already centrist enough. As a liberal I'm sick of this weak false opposition, cop out too.

Anyway,

Again Thx.,

B.

Barack Obama's a douche bag. He's a glib, unprincipled man who'll tell you what you want to hear, and then piss on you.

His devotion to the "rule of law" is as thin as quicksand, what with his support of the FISA surveillance bullshit. He doesn't want to campaign among, or be seen with, American Muslims. (He didn't waste any time, though, in selling his soul to the Israel Lobby, did he?) He hasn't spoken out against attacking Iran, and he probably doesn't want to get out of Iraq. (Then again, neither does the Democratic Party--they've voted to keep the war going, remember.)

Quite a choice between Obama and Mad Bomber McInsane, huh?!

In the words of Quiet Riot, we're not going to take it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-melber/obama-network-organizes-a_b_109882.html

Glenn,

I agree with your argument that the Dems and Obama in particular would be strong if they stood by their guns, so to speak. However, their problem, I'm afraid, is that they have not developed any foreign policy ideas of their own.

That is, they have no strong position on what to do about "enemies" and "problems overseas" other than the ones advocated by the war mongering right wing. They have no alternative to: "The only good Indian/Commie/blankety-blank is a dead Indian/Commie/fill in the blank."

I would suggest several alternatives like "we should trade with these people" or "we should avoid foreign entanglements except those where we address commercial or humanitarian pursuits." It's ideas like these which are different from the one's we usually hear and which have lead to our "empire-building."

Unfortunately, I suspect it's the fact that empire building is profitable to many of the defense related businesses that now support Democratic candidates which prevents Democrats in enough numbers from opposing wars and empire.

None of this would be surprising after a careful reading of Sen. Obama's 2nd book - "The Audacity of Hope".

In this book, Obama recognizes and talks about everything that has been said in the column and by people on the blogs here. There's a whole chapter on his musings about the constitution.

The most impressive thing about the book is that it has a copywright 2006 but touches on many of the players and issues in this year's election, including the media coverage.

He saw it all coming.

Last week, The Huffingtonpost had a headline about Christian conservatives being shocked that Obama was targeting evangelicals in his campaign. In "Audacity", Obama clearly states that Dems should never have let the right define the terms of the values and faith debates.

Among the least impressive things about the book is the fawning over the likes of Sen. Boyd (former KKK member)of West Virginia. According to Obama, if we met the man we would understand how sorry Sen. Boyd is about all that.

Where does he stand on the issues?

Throughout the book, he points out that his mother was very much a liberal of the early 60s variety. Passionate, naive, and compassionate...basically, liberals remind him of his mother. As I read, however, I felt as if I was being set up for the compromises to come. Could it be Obama wants to be the Lincoln in the civil war between the right and the left?

Sen. Obama is a man of vision, but I really couldn't tell you how he will ultimately use it.

Read for yourself and decide for yourself.