ON FRIDAY, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama arguably made the first mistake of his political career. In an address at Bowie State University he endorsed the white Democrat Ben Cardin over the black Republican Michael Steele for Maryland's contested Senate seat, saying, "I think it's great that the Republican party has discovered black people."
According to a recent Baltimore Sun poll, Cardin leads Steele 49 percent to 43 percent. Among black voters, who will make up roughly19 percent of expected turnout, Cardin leads 74 percent to 12 percent. If Steele is to win the race, he will need to make gains in this demographic group. Last Thursday, a group of black ministers endorsed Steele--and Obama was in Maryland the next day to try to undercut any growing support for Steele in the black community.
The obvious response to Obama's statement is that he is plainly wrong--the Republican party was founded in opposition to slavery and a higher proportion of Republicans than Democrats voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Indeed, for decades, Republicans counted blacks among their most loyal supporters. But his comment raises a question: Is this a slip-up or a glimpse of the real Obama? The media has consistently portrayed the senator as a center-leftist, a racial reconciler who believes, "There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America."
Indeed, until Friday, Obama kept his rhetoric free of anger and accusations of racism. Time magazine wrote of Obama that, "He's a liberal, but not a screechy partisan. Indeed, he seems obsessively eager to find common ground with conservatives." In the same article commentator Shelby Steele said of Obama, "White people are just thrilled when a prominent black person comes along and doesn't rub their noses in racial guilt." That is, until now.
If one looks past Obama's rhetoric and at his voting record, it's clear he's far to the left of middle American.
Project Vote Smart compiles politicians' voting records and endorsements. Obama's record on race-related issues, for instance, is in keeping with his partisan attack on Steele: He supported the positions of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 100 percent of the time in 2005. He supported the Leadership Council on Civil Rights 94 percent of the time and the American Immigration Lawyers Association 88 percent of the time. He opposed every measure the Federation for American Immigration Reform supported.
He may be principled and consistent, but he's far from moderate.
Other ratings speak volumes about his politics, too. The National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, and the National Education Association gave him 100 percent support in 2005. The Illinois Citizens for Handgun Control gave him an A. And National Journal's 2005 Composite Liberal Score put him to the left of 83 percent of senators.
It will be interesting if the media that thinks so fondly of Obama's supposed centrism remembers last week's attack on Michele Steele later on in his political life.
Robert VerBruggen is a freelance writer and an apprentice editor at the National Interest.
