Obama Denies Shift to Center

Obama in Powder Springs, Georgia, as reported by the New York Times' The Caucus:

“I believe in a whole lot of things that make me progressive and put me squarely in the Democratic camp,” he said. But, he noted, he does not believe that the active hand of government is a replacement, say, for parental responsibility in education.

“I believe in personal responsibility, I also believe in faith,” he said. “That’s not something new; I’ve been talking about that for years. So the notion that this is me trying to look” – he waves his hands around his head – “centrist is not true.”

Several months ago, I was constantly refuting attempts by my conservative friends to paint Obama as some sort of radical left-wing liberal. I argued that he is liberal but exhibits a very centrist pragmatism in his positions, traditional values in his approach to things like personal responsibility, and a careful conservative incrementalism. He may be more liberal than Gore or Kerry, but after the last eight years, liberal positions are more mainstream. My arguments were dismissed.

Now, I find myself arguing to those same conservatives that Obama has not significantly shifted to the center. That he has been saying the same things all along. Again, my arguments are being dismissed. He is a flip-flopper, they say. Now they are eager to hear every hint of centrism that they disregarded before.

Surely you can understand my frustration.