Obama seems like a leftist to some people because ANYONE seems like a leftist to them. It has always been the strategy of the reactionary conservatives to paint everyone as leftists. Their core belief is that government is inherently evil and incapable of solving any problems, except those caused by foreigners: the latter can be resolved with guns and bombs.
Strangely, they wish to be elected to office, even though they believe that government can do nothing useful. I suppose the plan is to prevent anyone else from even trying.
The last several days have been deeply strange: first, McCain, a geezer so antiquated that he cannot even use a computer, claims that Obama does not know enough about foreign policy to be president. Curious how this didnlt stop the old fart from endorsing the entirely foreign-policy ignorant Juniorbush twice. Juniorbush's ignorance was such that given a foreign poicy expert like Colin Powell, he not only ignored him, but disgraced him as well.
So Obama goes on a trip. He goes to Israel and makes the appropriate sucking sounds, and everyone likes him. He goes to Berlin and they love him. So what does McCain do? He goes to a German RESTAURANT (why? to impress the hassenpfeffer?) somewhere in Palookaville and says that he'd only go to Germany when (when?) he's elected. Lame beyond belief. Then he arranges an interview in the cheese aisle in some supermarket and pretends to know something about economics.
Obama is right about Afghanistan. That is where Al Qaeda really is, and the Taliban is still around. I doubt that it would take anywhere near the number of troops to eliminate the Taliban, and so far, most Afghanis do not mistrust the US. After all, they have no oil to be suspicious about.
If McCain does get elected, he will have only good old racism to thank. Even as we speak, hacks like Karl Rove are dutifully trying to come up with excuses for how you can say you want change from the absolute WORST president in history and still elect his party without being an overt crossburning, noose-knotting racist.