# Obama Governing Too Much From the Center. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 30, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238 "2009-03-30T00:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/21 "2009-03-30T18:26:37Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Chronos: Can you give us a single example of where Lincoln’s policies were further to the left of Obama’s? He confiscated private property claiming it was for the public good, what with freeing those slaves and all. Why, it got so a man wasn’t safe in his own plantation any more. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/22 "2009-03-30T18:37:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I agree he could go further but that doesn’t change the idea that he is currently the most left leaning of any President. And my position would be Libertarian. Part of being a centrist is you stop defining things in terms of left and right. You don’t say, “We can’t do that because it’s ‘left leaning’”, you say, “We can’t do that because the cons outweigh the pros”. Similarly, you don’t obsess over “socialism” (or “racism”) and other such labels. You don’t reject a position becuase it seems to parallel a position taken by your political enemies. You weigh the pros and cons and try to strike a balance. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/23 "2009-03-30T19:53:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Chronos: Can you give us a single example of where Lincoln’s policies were further to the left of Obama’s? Well, for starters, he actually fought a war against the conservatives in his own country for the sake of his liberal policies. I don’t think that anybody’s burned down Atlanta under Obama’s orders yet. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/24 "2009-03-30T19:58:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That’s because your own position is so far to the right, anything further to the left of Obama is out of sight over the horizon. There’s a lot further left he could go. Mine isn’t and I agree with Magiver completely. I don’t think Obama’s leftism is a BAD thing in and of itself, it’s farther left than _I_ as a Centrist would like. 😉 But he’s definitely pretty far to the left. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/25 "2009-03-30T19:58:30Z")
He can govern from anywhere he wants, but if he wants my support in the future he had better make health care available to everyone. That was the most important promise he made. So far he has done nothing, but it is a bit early yet. If he doesn’t offer a satisfactory plan by the start of next year I will write him off. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/26 "2009-03-30T20:40:34Z")
I think the OP is looking at some Obama administration half-measures, which are decidedly liberal to left wing, and mistaking them as governance from the center. That would be a mistake. Funding a liberal program at 90% and not 100% isn’t exactly centrism or even a compromise with conservatives - despite what some on these boards and in the media might think. And yes, I can come up with examples where these measures were indeed treated as such. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/27 "2009-03-30T20:59:46Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > To me, this thread looks like a strawman to make Obama look good by complaining that he’s a centrist when in actuality he is the most left leaning President in history. He’s waging class warfare in public with his control over executive salaries for all financial institutions and now he’s removed GM’s CEO. He’s solidly to the left on issues of union demands, health care, abortion, environmental issues, and taxes. > > I don’t see anything that remotely resembles centrism. While I can’t say with any confidence that Obama is the most left-leaning President - he is no centrist and I totally agree that this thread IS a strawman to make Obama look good. You see a lot of these threads on the net and it merely a symptom of the massive cognitive dissonance that voting for him created: “I voted for him and he is turning out to be a dunce”. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/28 "2009-03-30T21:16:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > To me, this thread looks like a strawman to make Obama look good by complaining that he’s a centrist when in actuality he is the most left leaning President in history. He’s waging class warfare in public with his control over executive salaries for all financial institutions and now he’s removed GM’s CEO. He’s solidly to the left on issues of union demands, health care, abortion, environmental issues, and taxes. > > I don’t see anything that remotely resembles centrism. Was he also the most liberal Senator as of 2006? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/29 "2009-03-30T23:38:59Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Hmm, governing for the center is what they call a mad dash toward socialism these days huh? What is “center” in America is what they call “right” in most industrial democracies. What is “socialism” in America is what they call “center.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/30 "2009-03-31T00:00:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > What is “center” in America is what they call “right” in most industrial democracies. What is “socialism” in America is what they call “center.” I’ve yet to see how this creates a problem, though. Assuming for the moment that Obama is the most left-leaning President in U.S. history… so? Is that automatically bad, or something? Who was the _second_-most left-leaning and how much did he manage to destroy the U.S. before saner, right-wingier heads prevailed? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/31 "2009-03-31T00:02:15Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Was he also the most liberal Senator as of 2006? > > -Joe Dunno about 2006 but he got the award for [2007](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/31/625886.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/32 "2009-03-31T01:16:07Z")
Right, because he’s so much further left than Barry Sanders. We’d take those claims a lot more seriously if the likely Presidential candidate weren’t always labeled the “most liberal Senator”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/33 "2009-03-31T01:44:11Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’ve yet to see how this creates a problem, though. Assuming for the moment that Obama is the most left-leaning President in U.S. history… so? Is that automatically bad, or something? Who was the _second_-most left-leaning and how much did he manage to destroy the U.S. before saner, right-wingier heads prevailed? A good question that deserves its own thread. So I made [one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=512332)! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/34 "2009-03-31T02:04:54Z")
never mind, not worth it ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/35 "2009-03-31T03:05:44Z")
He’s to the right…of many 'dopers. So…he MUST be either a centrist or even a quasi-right winger. 😛 No, I don’t think Obama is governing too much from the Center. I think he’d be well advised TOO govern more from the center…though as fucked up as the current situation is he’ll be lucky to keep his head above water, regardless of whether he swims to the right or left. Personally I’m hoping he swims UP and not DOWN (and takes the country with him in his upward swim)…I could give a shit about left and right atm. I’m too old and fat to re-learn the joys of hunting and gathering, or attempting to trade a pig for a cell phone… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/36 "2009-03-31T06:39:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Right, because he’s so much further left than Barry Sanders. We’d take those claims a lot more seriously if the likely Presidential candidate weren’t always labeled the “most liberal Senator”. He got the label before he ran for President based on his voting record. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/37 "2009-03-31T07:31:06Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I agree. I like Obama I voted for him, but I wish he would govern more from the center. A few things he is trying to implement really make me sick to my stomach. I’m not a fan of his hurting charitable tax deductions or the GIVE Act. Too much direct involvement of the government at the expense of the private sector’s ability to self-organize. Yes, also he spends too much on roads & bridges at the expense of pavement’s ability to regenerate. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/38 "2009-03-31T08:54:25Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > He got the label before he ran for President based on his voting record. Your chronology is totally inaccurate here. The _National Journal_ issued their rating of Obama as 2007’s most liberal senator on January 31, 2008, at which time he had been running for President for nearly a year. Moreover, as we discussed in [this October 2008 thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10321008), the _National Journal_ “most liberal” rankings fluctuate all over the place from one year to another, apparently depending on little besides which particular Democrat is running for a major office. For example, they ranked candidate Obama “most liberal” for 2007, and VP-candidate Biden third most liberal, whereas Obama had been ranked 10th most liberal for 2006 and 16th most liberal for 2005, while Biden was 19th most liberal for 2006. Similar effects were seen for Hillary Clinton, Kerry, and Edwards during their major races. Did Obama’s political beliefs suddenly get 30% more liberal between 2005 and 2007? Did Biden’s get about 35% more liberal in one short year? I doubt it. Basically, the **National Journal** “most liberal” rankings are a partisan joke. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/39 "2009-03-31T10:08:41Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I suppose he could become a Communist and wear one of those furry Russian hats. That would make him further left. With those ears? He’d look ridiculous. > [@](#): > > But Magiver’s point still stands. He IS the most left leaning President in history; liberal on every issue. To call him a centrist is a bit puzzling.. Obama is certainly one of the most “progressive” presidents, in the sense that he came into office with a huge list of things to accomplish (see [Politifact](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/) for the list). But “liberal”? More liberal than Carter, who put solar panels on the White House roof and ‘gave back’ the Panama Canal? More liberal than LBJ and his War on Poverty and civil rights legislation, or than Kennedy with the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps? More liberal than FDR and his New Deal? Hell, more liberal than Teddy Roosevelt, who proposed the first real environmental regulation and broke up the corporate monopolies? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238/40 "2009-03-31T12:01:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Dunno about 2006 but he got the award for [2007](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/31/625886.aspx). So, did he get more liberal after 2004 when John Kerry was “the most liberal senator”? Do you really have any doubt at all that had Hillary Clinton gotten the nomination that she’d have been “the most liberal senator”? Just because it makes you feel better about demonizing the other side doesn’t mean it’s true. -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-governing-too-much-from-the-center/491238.md?page=3)