Just recently Barack Obama eschewed the dreaded liberal label and said he preferred to be called a progressive, which by most definitions these days means ultra-liberal.

The leading Democrat presidential candidate says the "old label" no longer applies and he's trying to be considered more "progressive" and a "pragmatist."

Well, the New York Times apparently isn't following marching orders. Not only do they openly declare him to be a liberal, they use it in a headline.

Obama’s Test: Can a Liberal Be a Unifier?

At the core of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is a promise that he can transcend the starkly red-and-blue politics of the last 15 years, end the partisan and ideological wars and build a new governing majority.

To achieve the change the country wants, he says, “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.”

But this promise leads, inevitably, to a question: Can such a majority be built and led by Mr. Obama, whose voting record was, by one ranking, the most liberal in the Senate last year?

We'll leave that up to the voters to decide that question, though we must give the Times some points for not hiding the truth. Granted, describing Obama as the most liberal member of the United States Senate should burnish his credentials with the readers of the Old Grey Lady.

It is refreshing, however, to see the Times actually label Obama, considering how recently there is much hesitance on the part of the media to label Democrats, especially those who run afoul of the law, with the most recent examples being Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

You can be sure, however, if Obama does win the Democrat nomination, the GOP will be sure to remind voters of his record.

So far, Republicans give every indication of planning to portray Mr. Obama as just another big-government liberal.

—James Murray is a New Jersey-based blogger