Seeking Clues to Obamanomics

I agree with this, even though an Obama Presidency would undoubtedly cost me more on tax day...:

While Mr. Obama's economic platform is still in its formative stages, interviews with his aides and a review of his congressional record and speeches suggest that Obamanomics may place him somewhat to the left of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, but to the right of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, another rival for the 2008 nomination. Mrs. Clinton seems to be cultivating the centrist mantle her husband won during his presidency, while Mr. Edwards is courting the party's labor and grassroots activist base.

Mr. Obama's views seem to be tempered by President Clinton's strong push in the 1990s to steer the Democratic Party toward the center, away from the party's prior support for protectionism and rhetoric about class warfare. Yet Mr. Obama has voted against a trade agreement and backs policies that redistribute income by taking revenue from the wealthiest to fund programs for middle- and lower-income households. Like most Democrats, he favors rolling back at least the portion of the Bush tax cuts that favor upper-income families.

"His view is not that the rich are doing too well," says one economic adviser. "But he wants to finance some of the programs to help the poor do better -- and the resources have to come from where people are doing better."

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Seeking Clues to Obamanomics

Democratic Candidate
Is Just Beginning
To Fill In the Blanks

By DEBORAH SOLOMON
April 24, 2007; Page A4

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117737514082179798-search.html

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama is known mainly for his biography, his charisma and his early opposition to the Iraq war. On many issues, particularly economics, the Democratic presidential candidate is just beginning to fill in the blanks. The emerging picture shows a politician willing to use the government to intervene in markets to further core Democratic goals, though careful to avoid hard-edged liberal rhetoric.

One example of how the Illinois Democrat might approach economic policy is an unusual bill he first introduced to little notice shortly after entering the Senate in 2005 -- and reintroduced last week. The "Health Care for Hybrids" proposal would offer federal assistance to car makers struggling with hefty retiree health-care costs in exchange for their building more fuel-efficient automobiles.