An honest summary of the opinions I've heard--both in the media and in political postings on both blogs and listservs. Lawson sums it up nicely, pointing out the shifts and evaluating the potential reasons for each. However, commentators from Keith Olberman last night to Ariana Huffington have questioned whether this is a wise strategy. The link I provided takes you to both of those and more.

On the whole this is a sound, well-reasoned opinion piece. I do take issue with how some evidence was presented: Unexplained is Obama's qualification of his Jerusalem comment (though author's general gist is right on); The bit about Obama being "first presidential candidate since Richard Nixon to choose to raise unlimited private funds" fails to explain that the current campaign finance regime was written after Nixon, but again the gist is right.

If this author considers himself a supporter of Obama then he needs no enemies. I find it less than thoughful and less than fair. The tone is shrill and opiniated.

While this was a bit of an elegant criticism of Obama - it was also very well written and executed. It delivered what the title promised, provoked thought as good commentary should and was very independent while still raising questions. Simply stated, it is a great series of questions about Obama. It should be required reading for the Obama campaign. There is nothing in this article that is offensive. If one is Obama supporter, there may be reason to be unhappy - but one certainly couldn't take issue with the fairness of the writing or the gentility of the prose.

As McCain tries to deny so many of the positions he supported with his votes, the Independent tries to portray Obama as someone whose views are shifting excessively? I don't think so. While I agree with the criticism of the AIPAC speech, I think that the discussion of the campaign finance issue would be more informative if it mentioned McCain's flip-flops on campaign finance, including some that have been questioned legally. And I don't think that one can compare a person's views on the death penalty for a mentally retarded person with his views on the death penalty for a person who raped a child since many more people would have sympathy for a retarded person than for the rapist of a child. Krugman, as a supporter of Hillary ... More »

Lawson takes one of McCain's biggest weaknesses and applies it to Obama without discussing how McCain is the master of pandering. A little fact checking would have been appropriate on what Obama said about campaign finance. Obama did not pledge to take public financing, the statement he made on the Common Cause questionnaire was "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee.." That is not a pledge. No mention of the continuous changes in the McCain campaign on every major issue from tax cuts, GI Bill, troops in Iraq, mortgage plans, balanced federal budget, torture, social security, campaign finance reform, ethanol, immigration, lobbyists, Roe vs Wade, Henry Kissinger, gay ... More »

This article is well written in my judgment. It is an example of how complex political issues can be reported on, in a professional manner. Should it be acceptable for a candidate to change his/her mind when circumstances change? Does this include the switch from primary to general election? Can a skillful politician blur the distinction between adapting to $4 gasoline with changed policy positions; and adapting to a new political calculus after a primary election is sown up? The worthiness of a flip depends on its rational.

Great style - little substance to back up the commentary. Sound bites are wonderful but I would like to see more details. I was an Obama supporter but when I had donated the maximum amount and was still send emails to donate more - I realised that the Obama Money Machine does not keep records in a dynamic database - so that they can turn off the begging machine until the General Erection (pun intended) When I also learned that Obama is a member of the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) - which is the neo-dem operation: Includes the Clintons, Gore, Edwards, Richardson, etc... then I decided I will sit this election out. First one since 1972. Cheers