There's no question Barack Obama has moved to the Right since clinching the Democratic nomination. On a variety of issues, as many of his critics (like Joe Lieberman) have pointed out, he's trying to pick up independents and other swing voters by trying to pass himself off as a centrist, a strategy that makes sense on the surface, but doomed both Al Gore and John Kerry to "flip flopping" square status, and could doom him as well...
Arianna Huffington and other liberal commentators have been attacking Obama for changing or at least appearing to modify his positions on many issues, including gun control. (Obama praised the Supreme Court's decision to overturn DC's handgun law.) Over the weekend, John McCain and the right wing got in on the action:
Barack Obama defended his position on the Iraq War on Thursday after saying he may "refine" his position to withdraw combat troops within his first 16 months in office if military officials said such a timeline is unsafe.
"When I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I am sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies," Sen. Obama told reporters during a press conference before an event with veterans. [WSJ]
...which sounds reasonable, until you remember how eagerly his opponents have been awaiting his first "flip flop" (hell, they' both already "flip-flopped" a bunch of times.) The critics saw their chance:
In a statement, [McCain] campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said, "We are all absolutely committed to ending this war, but on Thursday Barack Obama's words indicated that he also shared John McCain's commitment to securing the peace beforehand. What's really puzzling is that Barack Obama still doesn't understand that his words matter."
In North Dakota on Thursday, Obama denied that he's shying away from his proposed 16-month phased withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq, calling it "pure speculation" and adding that his "position has not changed." [CNN]