Barack Obama fights back against Flip-floping charges

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama rejected charges on Tuesday that he has shifted positions on Iraq and other issues as part of a move to the political centre now that he is his party's nominee.

As he positions himself for the battle against Republican John McCain, the Illinois senator softened an earlier vow to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, did not oppose a Supreme Court decision striking down Washington's gun ban and said he would support expanding the government's wiretap authority.

Most recently, he signalled greater flexibility on his pledge to quickly pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, telling reporters last week he might "refine" his views based on what happens on the ground.

Asked about his Iraq policy at a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, Obama rejected claims he was softening his insistence on a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

He also said he hoped he could more generally counter "this whole notion that I am shifting to the centre or that I'm flip-flopping or this or that."

"You know, the people who say this apparently haven't been listening to me," Obama said.

The McCain campaign has eagerly accused Obama of shifting position for political expediency -- a tactic Republican President George W. Bush used successfully in his 2004 re-election campaign against Democrat John Kerry.

"I think there's been definitely shifts in position, and one of them is Iraq," McCain told the Fox News Channel on Tuesday.

Obama, who has a single-digit lead over McCain in the polls heading toward the November election, has also been criticized by some liberal supporters, particularly over his support for electronic eavesdropping legislation.

Pundits believe he is attempting to position himself closer to the centre in hopes of winning over independent voters, moderate Democrats and some Republican voters who have grown disenchanted with Bush.

'LURCHING' TO THE RIGHT?

In an opinion piece in Tuesday's New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert accused Obama of "lurching" away from liberal positions. "Senator Obama is not just tacking gently toward the centre," Herbert said. "He's lurching right when it suits him, and he's zigging with the kind of reckless abandon that's guaranteed to cause disillusion, if not whiplash."

But Obama said he wanted his supporters to know that although he might not agree with each of them on every issue, when he differs it is not because he is playing politics.

"One of the things that you find as you go through this campaign is that everybody became so cynical about politics that the assumption is that you must be doing everything for political reasons," he said. "Don't assume that because I don't agree with you on something that it must be because I'm doing that politically."

Later, Obama, addressing Latino voters, accused McCain of abandoning his position on immigration reform. "We need a president who isn't going to walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular," he told the League of United Latin American Citizens.

McCain broke with his Republican party and worked for a plan to offer a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But the immigration plan failed in Congress. Obama has faulted McCain for shifting during the fight for his party's nomination to an emphasis on the need to secure the U.S. borders before addressing the status of illegal immigrants.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKN0830341420080708?sp=true

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[abudi20]

Obama = flip flopper and liar

[pqnguyenx]

i think history will remember this as one of the worst covered elections ever. the main stream media is a dying beast and being replaced by to many bloggers and pundits that don't do enough homework to know a candidate's true position. instead they cling to their perceptions and convenient buzz words like "filp-flop."

[NHMntnHIGH]

well put, spread the word with logic, explian what a snake oil salesman is really selling. Remembering that logic drives the far left liberals insane with anger ROTFL

[trublueone]

Scarborough is a fucking tool. He's a BUsh shill trying to run away from his party. Scarborough fucking supported Bush. LIAR and another GOP dickless wonder. COWARD

[trublueone]

better than McSenile and PaLIAR!! Looking forward to Troopergate guilty verdict coming out against Palin. LOL!!

[trublueone]

GOP Dickless wonders commentators. They can't defend their record so they ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK. Weak gutless mother fuckers. GOP RUINED THE AMERICAN ECONOMY AND WAR.

[trublueone]

Wahhhh wahhhhhh wahhhhhh. Look at the repugnant trolls on youtube. LOL! Your party ruined American for the past 8 years!! LOL!! your party ruined our economy!! People are not going to vote for FLIP FLOP

[TXranger55]

MCCain makes mistakes during delivery of the message. Obama makes mistakes in pure logic and reason.

[cbarrett83]

I love how he danced around the real topic of him flip flopping and turned it into whether you agree with his views. What views I don't even know if he plans to keep troops in Iraq or bring them home because he's give several different versions. Hell he can't even make up his mind on his opinion of whether more troops will help the situation in Iraq. Obama lies quite frequently but for some people are so dead set on electing him because he is black that they ignore his political stances.

[NHMntnHIGH]

Hard Balls host is such a tool for the Dumbocratic party. Chris you should be ashamed to call yourself a reporter.

[kevjo66]

Liberal pussy commentators.

[chriscrimson98]

what is a flip floper...uh...and you uh...so cynical and...uh...about politics..and...uh..