Ideology is Relative

Paul Krugman on Obama:

Obama supporters...are suddenly starting to have the queasy feeling that their hero might be a bit of a …. centrist.

David Brooks on Obama:

[W]hen you look into [Obama's] actual policies, you often find a list of orthodox liberal programs that no centrist or moderate conservative would have any reason to support.

The lesson: where a politician stands on the ideological spectrum depends on where you stand on the ideological spectrum.