Obama's base is livid, and tens of thousands are now organizing against him on his very own website.
The problem with a people-powered movement is that eventually the people want a say. John Rosinski, an engineer in Orlando, Fla., always believed in the you-centered philosophy of Barack Obama's campaign. So he and more than 22,000 other supporters who banded together on Obama's website were furious when the Illinois Senator, despite their petition, voted July 9 for a bill that would allow the Bush Administration to continue its program of wiretapping without warrants, a measure Obama once swore he would filibuster. To Rosinski, that's apostasy. "I really don't know right now if I'll vote for him," Rosinski says. "He is just continuing politics as usual, becoming like any other politician."
Rosinski's comments sound less like Obama's base than an RNC operative rattling off the message of the day. Score one for the McCain campaign.
Once it's clear that Obama's words mean nothing, watch for McCain to leave behind the flip flopping charge and start focusing on his record. Because this is a change election and Obama will win if moderate voters conclude he is an acceptable alternative, flip flopping won't work for McCain in '08 like it did for Bush in '04. Fortunately, the McCain campaign knows it.
Phase Two of the McCain campaign's strategy is to remind people of Obama's doctrinaire liberal record in the Senate. Obama may be trying to be all things to all people, but he's really nothing to nobody. Once Obama has no credibility, it will be time to look at what his actions show about his true beliefs. Obama's record reveals even if he says he'll lower middle class taxes, lower gas prices, and limit late term abortion, he's actually voted against popular proposals to do all of these things. That's why, come November, people will be pulling the lever for McCain.
