Will the "real" Obama please stand up?

One of the threats Republicans are going to face in 2008 and beyond is Barack Obama. He looks good on television, is personable and comes off as a decent guy. The press and the Democrats go out of their way to portray him as a middle of the road uniter, rather than a typical Democrat (or do they just think that their left-wing policies really ARE centrist?). Either way, he's the kind of person who has yet to run a real campaign and to answer any questions. I blame Judy Baar-Topinka for that problem, she pretty much emptied the field in the Senate race against Obama and brought in the worst possible candidate, Keyes, who never had a chance in pinning down Obama on his beliefs.

One key piece of information was a speech he gave to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. If anyone knows this group, then they recognize the type of forum they provide (a left-wing view of world politics that continues to embrace the idealism of the League of Nations/UN crowd). While he restrains himself from calling Bush a Nazi or for condemning the very idea of the military, he nonetheless has little to offer beyond the typical Democrat talking points on Iraq:

http://obama.senate.gov/speech/051122-moving_forward_in_iraq/index.html

Fortunately for us, we also have his Senate voting records to help our judgement. In an article for Newsbusters.org, Mark Finkelstein shows clearly whose side Obama is on:
http://newsbusters.org/node/8520

To quote from the article,
"Aside from a small smattering of ratings such as the 33% percent from Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum and the 45% from on Personal Liberties from the Republican Liberty Caucus, Obama fits the liberal profile to a 'T.' Examples:
Planned Parenthood 100% in 2006.
National Right to Life Committee 0% in 2005-2006.
Americans for Tax Reform 0% in 2005.
NAACP 100% in 2005.
American Conservative Union 8 percent in 2005.
Illinois Environmental Council 100% in 2003 .
Children's Defense Fund [Hillary's old beat] 100% in 2005.
National Organization For Women 100% in 2005.
NRA, 'F' in 2004.
Federation for American Immigration Reform 0% in 2005.
2005 AFL-CIO 92%.
Americans for Democratic Action [old-style liberal organization] 100% in 2005."

Can anyone really believe that this Senator is a centrist? If anything this highlights the sharp-leftward tilt of Illinois in recent years. One of the fallouts from The Reagan/Bush economic expansions has been that some economic centers have become entirely too comfortable and have forgotten the hard lessons of the late 70's. Based on his voting record, Obama is entirely willing to vote us back to those times if given the chance.

I do have to say, though, that Obama is a Senator who does not offend me. While I utterly disagree with his voting, I think he's a good character person who means well. It isn't his fault that the media and the Illinois Republicans have allowed him to campaign by platitude.