Obama has built a solid liberal record

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama appeals to a cross-section of America as an eloquent speaker with the potential to bridge a political battlefield bloodied by years of fighting. But underlying the Chicago Democrat's sudden rise to fame over the past two years is a solid liberal record built over 10 years in Springfield and Washington, D.C. It's the kind of record that, no doubt, will help him in such places as Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses should he run for the presidency. But it could leave some people questioning his ability to narrow the partisan divide. Obama, who objects to ideological labels, wins high marks from progressives on environment, abortion and labor issues, as well as on civil liberties and education, all of which are vital to