Is that center/right?– or center left? or center center?

I think there’s one view that whatever the majority want is the ‘center’. But, there’s another which looks at points along the political scale (at least the one we tend to use in America) where distinct differences in world-view and policy styles change. For example, we all favor less government intervention (generally) than Europeans, but unlike the Libertarian view (notice it’s got a distinct name) Dems and Repubs favor a safety net and regulation.

In these terms America moved entirely away from what was all too clearly a dictatorial position (though W had been portrayed as ‘compassionate conservative’ in his 2000 campaign (clearly a lie) and back to the Left a little. They went for Obama’s health care plan and not Hillary or Edwards. They went for getting out of Iraq over staying in. They went for new faces without old agendas and confused complex histories. They didn’t go very far Left, despite the effort of McCain to paint Obama as socialist (boy, wasn’t that idiotic?).

Where I’m not sure the public knew a lot about Obama is that (as I see it) his domestic political position a further to the Left than his foreign policy political position. Maybe I’m projecting, but it seems to me Libs have already complained about his stand on FISA and his hawkish foreign policy positions — relative to their own. But, on domestic policy Libs seem a bit peeved he won’t go far enough. Take these two together and you see he isn’t a Lib, but at least on domestic policy he’s close. Be ready for more disappointments on foreign policy — except perhaps on Iraq.

Still, he’s centrist enough and seems entirely competent and intelligent and all those other good qualities. I think we’ll survive.

And of course there was the economy, the economy, the economy which is what really did McCain in

Well, according to Pat Buchannan at least.

I don’t buy that. McCain never had a chance, under any circumstances.

They didn’t want to win this one.

Their whole campaign was political theater.