Time to let go of the labels?

[Anonymous]

Any political junkies out there who believe that something more transformational is going on than just a national election and economic meltdown? Set aside all the noise..the risky, the erratic, the narrative and what is amazing is that the tags liberal and conservative just don't mean what they once did..even though some voters seem to be stuck in 20 years ago applying old assumptions. You have a "conservative" candidate pitching buying home mortgages and writing down the principal, you have a conservative administration buying interest in the banking system, you have a "liberal" candidate advocating taxt incentives for large corporations to cover health insurance. These simply are not the days of Reagan stay out of government at all costs or LBJ build givernment subsidized programs. Neither candidate is pitching these idea yet we still cling to the labels. Call me crazy but Obama doesn't liberal not like Kerry or other liberals before him and McCain and Bush now only seem conservative on traditional social issues like abortion and equal rights.

Any predictions on whether this really signals a upside turnover of the main party principals and what may emerge?

[Anonymous]

That's the problem with Obama in my view -- he's not really all that liberal, which is why it's so frustrating that he's being called a socialist.

I hope you are right but I am not going to get my hopes up. I give it about six months after the election for the left (including me) to get frustrated with him. (Full disclosure: I was thoroughly disgusted with Bill Clinton by the time he left office because I thought he was really a moderate Republican in disguise -- besides being an idiot who thinks with his ####.)

Don't get me wrong. I really want him to win, just not naive enough to think it will mean anything.

But here's hoping you are right and that my cynical instincts are wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's the problem with Obama in my view -- he's not really all that liberal, which is why it's so frustrating that he's being called a socialist.

Remember that he came to prominence by making a speech saying there are no red states and no blue states, just the United States. And all the buzz from his law school days was that nobody ever really knew where he stood on issues except that he seemed to sympathize with everyone and to be good at bringing them together. The only witnesses we have to his liberalism are McCain and Palin.

I consider myself thoroughly liberal, but having felt left out of my country by my own government for eight years, I would like to see a president who can make us all feel like Americans.