When Ratzinger was put forth as candidate for the Papacy, a lot of lefties shrieked that it was "a liberal's turn" to become Pope.
Most of the negative things I've heard about Ratzinger came from the far left. These are the same people who accused George W of dereliction of duty and claimed John Kerry was "smarter." They also called John Kerry a war hero.
I have to take the claims against Ratzinger with a grain of salt.
Sorry, but that is 100% wrong. Ratzinger was always the "conservative" end of the spectrum. Liberals were angry when he was suggested for pope and right before the vote it was said he stood NO CHANCE of getting enough votes.
All this is documented on FR. If I have time, I'll send a few links...again.