Both McCain and Obama are adjusting fire as they look ahead to the general election, and as they try and look the part of presumptive nominee. Obama hit McCain again last night, as he did over the weekend, for his support of the war and his flip-flopping on the Bush tax cuts. Steve Hayes writes of the speech:
When Omaba challenges McCain, he begins with a show of respect. "John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, is a hero. And we honor his service to our nation." It is a signature Obama rhetorical technique.
Indeed it is. And it may be problematic. For starters, it's transparently insincere. This may not have been a problem in his battle with Clinton--next to her nobody looks insincere--but against McCain it's unlikely to play as well. It also may have an unintended effect, as JPod explains:
Part of the weaponry in the McCain arsenal for November is reintroducing - or introducing - the extraordinary tale of his conduct in the Hanoi Hilton, including his refusal to leave when offered an exit by his captors. Many know it, but many don't, and those who do won't mind hearing it again. Obama is running as a personality candidate, and he is a marvelous personality. But McCain is something grander and rarer and nobler than that, and it won't help Obama if he is one of the people who reminds the American people of it.
As for the substance of the attacks, until McCain is better able to articulate why Americans shouldn't worry about being in Iraq for the next hundred years and why his position on the tax cuts isn't a flip-flop, they're likely to be fairly effective. Explaining the flip-flop is relatively easy. Americans will understand that being against the tax cuts seven years ago isn't inconsistent with now being against a tax increase--which is exactly what a failure to extend the tax cuts will feel like to most. McCain's offered this defense before, but he will need to make it a regular feature of his campaign speeches. The comments about Iraq are more problematic. It was unwise for McCain to have used such hyperbole when framing his position on the war (victory will take as long as it takes, because defeat isn't an option), and neutralizing this particular line of attack will be a top priority for the McCain camp. Until they are able to do so, Obama's going to hit him on it every chance he gets.