I think about it basically the same as you do. Any senator the Republicans are running against is always "the most liberal senator" because that's the only meme that know re that. Obama is a straight down the middle centrist, which is fine with me, but I believe, and I think Obama believes that the actual center is pretty far to the left of where the average Republican thinks it is. That said, a lot of actual left-leaning people are going to be disappointed.

The bottom line is I would have voted for whichever Dem got the nod, as long as he/she didn't turn out to be a raging nutcase.

I didn't vote for either Obama or Clinton in the primaries, and I wouldn't have voted for Obama then, because six months ago I wouldn't have believed a black guy could get elected President in my lifetime. I really wanted the Republicans thrown out, and I wanted a Dem who could actually win. Of course I voted for him in the general election and I'm still floored that he did win.