People seem to be mistaking, "Willing to talk to and about people who disagree with you without being condescending" with "centrist". I don't agree that he ever was passing himself off as centrist, he's always been almost identical to Hilary on "the issues".

Except that the media, I believe intentionally, hasn't covered him as the liberal that he is, and most people who do not pay attention only know of his talking about "change" and "hope". When he comes out in speeches talking about his liberal policies, it becomes more difficult to hide.

Yes, I'm being somewhat conspiratorial, but where has the media coverage been on how far left he is?

The media, at least the part that some would call "liberal" or "left," probably wouldn't focus on Obama's being "liberal" or "on the left" except when discussing how he might be perceived by those who use those terms pejoratively.

If there is concern about him "appearing" to move to the left, when he isn't moving and is simply talking about his opinions, then there is obviously concern about covering his policies because his policies show him for what he is without all the hope and change rhetoric throw in.

And I don't mean "show him for what he is" in a bad way. I don't think he's a bad man. I just think his policies are far left and there is a concerted effort to keep that hidden.

We're still in the Democratic primary. He's running against Hillary. They are almost identical. It's a non issue until he's running against someone else. How would, "Democratic candidate holds liberal beliefs" be a headline?

I guess you have a point there. However, why then is there concern about him appearing to move to the left when he is talking about policy?

Because that article decided to spin things like that?

Spin? Perhaps. One mans spin is another mans news reporting, I guess.

Well, the article doesn't present any evidence of "shift." It doesn't present a single position that shows a more centrist position by Obama in the past let alone that he has moved to the left on it. It pretends confusion as to why Obama would just now be talking about such "liberal" (I fail to see how opposition to the border loosening elements of NAFTA is a liberal position but let's say it is) now when the answer is obvious (uh... two states hugely impacted by NAFTA and also in possession of a huge number of delegates are the current focus of the campaign. It is no surprise that NAFTA wasn't such an issue in Hawaii and Georgia).

He is also saying almost the exact same things about NAFTA as Clinton, so has she also taken a sudden startlingly leftward jaunt?

So, I don't actually see any reporting. Just quotes from strategists who disagree with strategy while presenting no evidence of a strategist change by Obama or a change in the tone of coverage by the press.

Until I see some evidence that he's actually moved to the left, rather than the fact that people were just not paying attention and now suddenly are and that he appears to have moved to the left, it's spin.

The reality is, he knew from the beginning that he wasn't going to beat Hillary based on issues. There's nothing to distinguish him from her on that. So he didn't focus on it and instead focused on where he felt he did have her beat, character. He never claimed be to centrist, he never claimed any views that were further right than he actually is. So any "move" is purely a perception based on assumptions, not on reality.