WP, pg.1: ANALYSIS
Obama's Ideology Proving Difficult to Pinpoint
Democrats Decry a Move Toward Middle, but Republicans Still See a Liberal
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page A01
Sen. Barack Obama is flanked by reporters and security personnel as he leaves the Capitol briefly after one of many votes, including one on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (Linda Davidson/WP)
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama put himself on the opposite side of his party's leadership in the Senate yesterday by reversing course to support a compromise intelligence surveillance bill. His vote was the most dramatic in a series of moves toward the middle that have focused new attention on where he stands and where he would take the country....One factor in Obama's success has been his ability to confound both left and right. But while that may be a measure of a skillful politician determined to win a general election, it has left unanswered important questions about his core principles and his presidential priorities. How well he answers them over the coming months will determine the outcome of his race against Republican Sen. John McCain.
Statements he has made over the past month have ignited a debate about who Obama is ideologically. His current policy positions have convinced some progressives that he is not one of them....Republicans see a different Obama. The National Journal rated him the most liberal member of the Senate last year. His advisers say the rating system is faulty, but McCain and other Republicans say it is an accurate reflection of Obama's political philosophy....The reality is that Obama is some of all those things. His strong opposition to the Iraq war helped draw support from the left in the primary elections. But he insisted Tuesday that he long has held many positions that are moderate rather than liberal....
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Although Clinton and Bush challenged some party orthodoxy in their first presidential campaigns, Obama has been far more reluctant to do so. And at this point, no signature policy proposal is universally regarded as distinctive in defining his politics or philosophy. What then constitutes Obama-ism? As one Democratic strategist put it: "It's pretty clear what it isn't, but it isn't yet clear what it is."...
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Heather Higginbottom, Obama's domestic policy director....said Obama's policy priorities begin with Iraq and the Middle East. Obama said last week that he remains committed to the idea of removing all combat troops in about 16 months, should he assume the presidency. Domestically, Obama has proposed policies for stimulating the economy and helping struggling families, for dealing with global warming and U.S. dependence on foreign oil and for achieving near-universal health-care coverage....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902368.html