Barack Oba-moderate?

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
By Mark Finkelstein | January 10, 2008 - 07:45 ET

It's one of the great MSM rituals of presidential politics: the labeling of leading Dems as "moderates" or "centrists." Gail Collins honors the tradition in her New York Times column of today. Now it's true that Collins ostensibly speaks more of Obama's tone than of his politics. But, ultimately, as you'll see, she melds the two to portray a thoroughly moderate man. We'll do a reality check, but first let's look at the excerpt from Collins's column [emphasis added]:

Barack Obama turns out to have a positive genius for making moderation sound exciting and is perhaps the only politician in American history who can get a crowd all worked up with a call to politeness. “We can disagree without being disagreeable,” he said in his New Hampshire farewell, drawing a roar of approval.

In a country where the spoils go to the loudest shrieker, this is absolutely revolutionary and very important. Most Americans want a moderate government, but nobody has ever before been able to make moderate seem interesting, let alone sexy. (Remember Joseph Lieberman.)

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Again, while she does focus largely on Obama's admittedly moderate tone, she does also write of the prospect of a "moderate government" that he would lead. That would go to his actual substance, his views on the issues. And just what are those views? Well, Collins isn't the first to have attempted to cast Obama as a man of the middle. Newsweek's Richard Wolffe, a frequent Olbermann guest, did the same think back in July, calling Obama a centrist. I wrote about it at the time, so let me dust off that same list of some of the interest group ratings, culled from Project Vote Smart, that Obama has earned over the years.

  • 100% from Planned Parenthood
  • 100% from NARAL
  • 0% from the Illinois Association for Right to Life
  • 0% from Americans for Tax Reform
  • 100% from the NAACP
  • 8% from the American Conservative Union
  • 100% from the NEA [teachers union]
  • 100% from Children's Defense Fund [Hillary's old group]
  • 100% from NOW
  • 88% from the American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • 0% from the Federation for American Immigration Reform
  • 100% from the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees
  • 100% from Americans for Democratic Action [gold-standard of old lefty groups]
  • 0% from NRA
  • 'A' from Illinois Citizens for Handgun Control

See anything particularly moderate there? Note also Collins's analogizing of Obama to Joe Lieberman. The fact is that despite his muscular foreign policy views, the Connecticut senator is a traditional liberal on domestic issues.

Let's try this one: how would the MSM react if a conservative with ratings that were the mirror-image of Obama's tried to present himself as a moderate? Hey, keep the laughing down. It's early.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.

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Moderate Obambi

So he's a "moderate" because NAMBLA hasn't endorsed him yet?  I doubt the schoolmarm would redesignate him to Liberal even for that endorsement. 

I ♣ My Seal

In Collins' mind, Obama is

In Collins' mind, Obama is a "moderate" because he talks about moderation.

That's how it is with Liberals...it's about what you say, not what you do. It's all about "intention" and "trying." The actual record doesn't matter.

So if you talk moderation, such as "we should try to reduce the number of abortions" that makes you a moderate, even if your voting record is 100% from Planned Parenthood and NARAL.

 

 

Very well put, motherbelt!

Very well put, motherbelt!

Thanks, Mark!

Thanks, Mark!

how would the MSM react if a conservative with ratings that were the
mirror-image of Obama's tried to present himself as a moderate? Hey,
keep the laughing down. It's early.

Keep the laughing down? How about "keep the coffee down!" as in "spew alert!" 

}}---> Motherbelt

To get that far right, you'd have to be promoting an honest to goodness "flat earther" 

I ♣ My Seal

Upper West Side Logic

It's entirely believable that Barack Obama is to the right of Gail Collins, and therefore appears moderate.

To present and former members of of the NYT Editorial Board, moderation means reaching out to all Democrats, since by definition Republicans, especially conservative Republicans, are hateful, no-nothing troglodytes who are unworthy and unable of being reached.

 

You mean like in

You mean like in criminalizing conservatives, the allegation is always more important for the msm than the evidence. That kind of spin.

}}---> Gail Collins

Maybe her NYT internship was with Jayson Blair and she mails her columns in from home.

Bill Kristol must wonder just how much his credibility is put in question by joining this old Yellow Lady. 

I ♣ My Seal

What kind of moderate participates in filibusters for qualified

supreme court nominees? Obama was not among the moderates who broke the filibuster and he ultimately voted against both Roberts and Alito. Obama is as far left as it gets.

"moderate seem interesting, let alone sexy"

"moderate seem interesting, let alone sexy"

I wish Collins would get a boyfriend or something. She brings sex into every Democrat she talks about.

Donkey: Shrek and I drank

Donkey: Shrek and I drank this potion and now... we're sexy

*****

"There are no stupid questions. Only stupid people who ask questions." - Chris Berman 

ROFL, this lady is so

ROFL, this lady is so retarded.

The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy

Moderate

Gail Collins obviously has no clue what the definition of moderate is.  If she used only a moderate amount of toothpaste, her teeth would register at beige rather than mocha.

Ask Obama the monster on

Ask Obama the monster on the "Born Alive Infant " bill.  That we would even need a bill for this is just unbelievable.  This monster has consistently voted against making sure that babies bore premature with some difficulties do not live to see the light of day.

I am talking Downs Syndrome babies and such.  If the mother had induced labor to have the baby and it survived outside the womb then Doctors would have had no obligation to try and keep this baby alive. The "Born Alive Infant" bill made sure the doctors tried their damnedest to keep these babies alive.  Obama consistently voted no or "present" (which is a no) on passing this bill every time it came up in the Illinois legislature and tried to kill it on the federal level.  He is a monster, there is no other word for him!