New York Times
By William Yardley

The Democratic candidate has made a series of votes, hard-core liberals say, aimed at attracting moderates.

In the breathless weeks before the Oregon presidential primary in May, Martha Shade did what thousands of other people here did: she registered as a Democrat so she could vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

“I’m disgusted with him,” said Shade, an artist. “I can’t even listen to him anymore. He had such an opportunity, but all this ‘audacity of hope’ stuff, it’s blah, blah, blah. For all the independents he’s going to gain, he’s going to lose a lot of progressives (Liberals).”

“We’re frustrated by it, but we understand,” said Mollie Ruskin, 22, who grew up in Baltimore and is spending the summer in Portland as a fellow with Politicorps, a program run by the Bus Project, a local nonprofit that trains young people to campaign for progressive (Liberal) candidates. “He’s doing it so he can get into office and do the things he believes in.”

Still, others warned that Obama risked being viewed as someone who parses positions without taking a principled stand.

Joe McCraw, 27, a video engineer from San Carlos, Calif., who writes three liberal blogs, said Obama’s shift on the domestic spying measure was a watershed moment. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen him lie to us, and it makes me feel disappointed,” McCraw said.

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