Obama as legislator vs. potential president

HoosierPundit responds to my post on Mona Charen's article about why conservatives don't dislike Obama all that much-- at least, not yet...

I agree with HP that conservatives of various stripes will find plenty of reasons to attack him-- if not dislike him. (That said, I can't imagine that it will ever rise to the level of disdain they have for the Clintons.)

Among other things, HP cites the (objective) National Journal rating/ranking of Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate. This certainly indicates that he legislates as a far lefty. That's his record for the few years he's had in federal elected office.

But as a President, would he preside as a far lefty or something more moderate--say, left-of-center)? Particularly if he's mostly style over substance-- as he is most often described today-- my guess would be the latter.

Here's what I posted on this earlier at Veritas Rex:

I have not studied Obama's career and voting record. But if one takes him, at least in significant part, as he's being painted-- i.e., strong on style and weaker on substance-- then he would likely govern as one who is modestly left of center. He might *legislate* as someone on the far left (a la NJ's rating). But as president, he would be drawn toward the center naturally-- and beyond that, if he didn't exert himself forcefully as a leader, he'd float even more toward the center.

That's part of what makes Clinton and McCain an interesting contrast to Obama: both are viewed as more moderate by their ratings. But both also exhibit strong leadership abilities and beliefs on various policies. That makes them-- for better and for worse-- more likely to exert influence than an Obama.