A Conservative for Obama

D Magazine by Wick Allison | Sep. 24, 2008 (Opinion)

My party has slipped its moorings. It's time for a true pragmatist to lead the country.

The more I listen to and read about "the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate," the more I like him. Barack Obama strikes a chord with me like no political figure since Ronald Reagan. To explain why, I need to explain why I am a conservative and what it means to me.

In 1964, at the age of 16, I organized the Dallas County Youth for Goldwater. My senior thesis at the University of Texas was on the conservative intellectual revival in America. ... Full Story »

Posted by Dale Penn

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3.8

by Chris Finnie - Oct. 1, 2008

As much as anything, this is a personal realization about the shallowness of labels. What does conservative really mean? The dictionary says it means preserving established tradition. Allison gives it another meaning here: a person who takes thoughtful, measured actions. Close, if not exactly the dictionary definition. By his definition, however, he makes a good case for why GOP leaders should no longer be called conservatives, and why he would support the more thoughtful, less bellicose Obama.