Nate constructed a chart placing the Obama policy agenda on an ideological spectrum. Nate's summation includes:
...this can hardly be described as a centrist agenda (even though much of it should have significant appeal to moderates).
The chart is posted after the jump, along with some additional thoughts...
Nate sets it up:
I then began classifying these positions on a truncated political spectrum running from liberal/progressive to center-right, further dividing the policies into economics and taxation (green), other domestic policy (yellow) and foreign affairs (blue). Here is what I came up with:
Now, as you read down the chart, think about which agenda items you strongly oppose. I mean, the ones you will fight against. Make calls, send e-mails, etc. Let's call them Activist Items. Honestly, there are only three on my list and, naturally, they're all at the bottom in the 'center-right' column:1. Double funding for charter schools.2. National missile defense.3. Develop clean coal technology.Of course there are other items that I would generally support but which might be ruined by a particular amendment or policy shift. So my list isn't permanent. But ultimately, as we read through the chart, we find that irrespective of who the president-elect is hiring, his agenda is his agenda, and it appears to be mostly liberal and center-left.I'm probably going to make this a permanent post linked from the sidebar. It's such a valuable resource -- a scorecard we can follow along with as we work our way through President-elect Obama's first term.