The real Obama

Washington Times Editorial:

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... In 1996, Mr. Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate, representing a South Side district of Chicago. Although he failed in a bid at a congressional seat in 2000, this was Mr. Obama's only legislative experience before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
• Between 1997 and 1998 and again in 2001, the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council gave Mr. Obama a 100 percent rating on his voting record.
• In 1999, the anti-tax organization National Taxpayers United of Illinois gave Mr. Obama a 0 percent rating on his voting record; in 2001-02, it gave him a 10 percent rating.
• In 2003, the Illinois Environmental Council gave Mr. Obama a 100 percent rating; in 1998, it gave Mr. Obama a 75 percent rating.
• In 2004, based on his lifetime voting record in the Illinois Senate, the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund gave Mr. Obama a grade of F.
• On labor issues, the Illinois AFL-CIO gave Mr. Obama a 92 percent rating, an 89 percent rating and an 89 percent rating in the years 1999, 2001 and 2003, respectively.
• At an antiwar rally in October 2002, Mr. Obama delivered a fiery speech in which he said, "What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from the rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income..." However, as Black Commentator magazine noticed, when Mr. Obama began his campaign for the U.S. Senate those remarks mysteriously disappeared from his Web site.
In short, Mr. Obama's record as an Illinois state senator was down-the-line liberal. For someone representing a liberal district in Chicago, that's not very surprising. What is surprising is how Mr. Obama's liberal label has been effectively wiped clean since he entered the U.S. Senate.

His voting record is mainly liberal in the US Senate too. While he occasionally expresses "centrist" sentiments, they are not who he is. I would expect the Clinton politics of personal destruction team to start defining hem pretty soon.

Larry Kudlow give more reasons to oppose Obama.

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Obama voted against the Bush tax cuts on capital gains and dividends, justifying his anti-growth stance with the old class-warfare saw about tax cuts for the rich. Of course, these are the very same tax cuts that spurred economic expansion, created record job growth and reduced the deficit, as revenues flooded the Treasury.

The young senator also voted against repealing the death tax. He dismissed it as a "Paris Hilton tax break" that would give "billions of dollars to billionaire heirs and heiresses." Try telling that to the owners of farms, ranches and small businesses who are forced to sell their legacies because of this tax.

He swings a nice protectionist bat, too. He has voted against free trade (CAFTA) and U.S. energy independence (drilling in ANWR), and has opposed lifting a $0.54 per gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. "Ethanol imports are neither necessary nor a practical response to current gasoline prices," he claimed. Nonsense.

He's also strongly opposed to personal retirement accounts for Social Security reform and prefers instead that the government steward your money. As Amanda Carpenter wrote in Human Events, "When speaking out against various tax cuts, Obama has likened the 'Ownership Society' -- which entails such things as personalized Social Security accounts, health savings accounts and school choice -- to 'social Darwinism.'"

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... He voted against Supreme Court Justices Sam Alito and John Roberts. (Even liberal Sens. Russ Feingold and Pat Leahy voted for Roberts.) He said no to Patriot Act wiretap extensions, despite their proven effectiveness in halting terrorist attacks over the past five years. He collaborated in blocking John Bolton's appointment to the United Nations. He earned a perfect 100 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America. He voted against a ban on partial-birth abortions twice as a state senator. He opposed the Defense of Marriage Act and stood against the Federal Marriage Amendment, despite acknowledging his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.

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He does make liberals feel comfortable with their failed policies of the past. Liberals ha e become reactionaries and Obama is clearly in that camp. He manages to obfuscate his liberalism in a way similar to Clinton's talent for deceit. That is probably what the media likes best about him and they will attempt to keep up the facade as long as possible.