[FoRK] My real litmus test

[Russell Turpin]

Jeff Bone:
> There's one action Obama could take that would persuade me that he's
> the more moderate candidate in the McCain-Obama matchup. He could
> make good on his claim of non-partisanship by appointing a centrist or
> economic-right believer, a pro-business and pro-free market
> individual, as his running mate.
 
It will be quite interesting to see who he chooses as a running mate. 
It's a bit hopeful, but certainly not determinative, that Austan Goolsbee
has been volunteering as Obama's economic advisor. I agree that the 
economics question is one of the larger negatives in Obama's column. 

And yes, I think Obama penned his own books. Not only did he start doing
so before he could afford a ghost writer, but there is quite a bit of 
discussion in writing circles about this. There was a rather lengthy
article, I thought posted here, about his speechwriters, and the very
different process they use with a candidate who writes many of his own 
speeches and therefore is more involved in the creation process than most 
politicians of those speeches that are written for him. 

I think your crypto-radar may be a bit overly sensitive. Obama is blatantly
liberal on economic issues. More liberal than I would prefer. Unlike Bush,
though, he also is more transparent with regard his outlook on life, the
processes he uses, and the whole of his campaign. My suspicion with Bush is
that a large part of what made him effective at flying under the radar was 
his own lack of curiousness likely extends to himself. Of course, Obama's
seeming transparency MIGHT just be a more effective cover, for some cryptic 
end that no one can guess. It seems more likely to me that the economic 
liberalism he speaks is what he intends. That's still more left that I would
like. But not so much that I worry he is going to do stupid things to screw
up the economy. The usual caveat about my crystal ball applies.

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