Obama Ran to the Right?

8 Thoughts About the 2008 Election #3

The conventional wisdom inside the mainstream media is that the U.S. is a Center-Right nation, and that Barack Obama has better be careful about governing too progressively. Now, it's expected that Bay Buchanan and Karl Rove would espouse this view, but even Tom Brokaw is getting into the act. (Brokaw's evidence? At the county level, McCain won more land area than Obama. Can land vote?)

Does Obama's large electoral victory bring the Center-Right theory into disrepute? No! Does his large victory in the popular vote? Of course not! What about his winning such traditional Red states as Indiana and North Carolina? I don't think so! As usual, once the right has a theory, all evidence supports that theory. It's almost like magic. Kinda cool really.

Of course, it was just a few days ago that Barack Obama was a socialist, intent on destroying the American way of life. He ran on a platform that called for raising taxes on the rich. He called for health insurance to be made available to all. Yet now, it is said that he ran a Center-Right campaign, by the losers.

This is such a self serving opinion on their part. I suppose when both your party and your ideology have been soundly rejected at the polls, you have to come up with an excuse. This is good news for our side. Nobody is going to buy Barack Obama as the middle of the road, slightly conservative Democrat. Sure, nobody enjoys a little hypocrisy more than a conservative, but you can't really get away with yelling "Socialist!!!" at every news organization that will listen one day, and then claiming Obama ran as a Republican the next.

While I'm certain that the United States is not a Center-Right country, I'm also not convinced we are a Center-Left one as well. I tend to think we are all these things. There is something that I do know for sure though. Barack Obama and the Democratic party ran to the left nationally and took control of the executive branch, and solidified control of the legislative branch of our government. After the disaster of rule by the right, the people decided it's time to give the left a shot. Let's make sure they don't regret it.