Comment & Debate
“Tribune endorsement: Barack Obama for president”. Chicago Tribune. October 17, 2008 – We do, though, think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect.
We know first-hand that Obama seeks out and listens carefully and respectfully to people who disagree with him. He builds consensus. He was most effective in the Illinois legislature when he worked with Republicans on welfare, ethics and criminal justice reform.
He worked to expand the number of charter schools in Illinois–not popular with some Democratic constituencies.
He took up ethics reform in the U.S. Senate–not popular with Washington politicians.
His economic policy team is peppered with advisers who support free trade. He has been called a “University of Chicago Democrat”–a reference to the famed free-market Chicago school of economics, which puts faith in markets.