Another reason that “Obama the socialist” never stuck is that it is in competition with (in my view) an even more convincing caricature, “Obama the empty suit.” In this narrative, Obama is an ambitious yuppie with no firm ideas other than that he should be in power. Yes, he hangs out with lefties of various stripes, but that’s the obvious path to power for a black man in the Democratic party. The first time we see him do something (anything) that actually costs him votes we will have some indication that he really believes something.