A while back, I wrote a piece for Maclean’s about the “liberal” tag that the GOP would try to stick on Obama, and why I didn’t think it was accurate. Today Dan Balz gives a round-up of Obama’s moves to the center/right that have been more aggressive than most people had expected.

Call it flip-flopping, shrewd maneuvering, or just a sincere reflection of his highly nuanced views, or his wonderful listening skills… whatever, but it’s clear the guy is determined to win. As David Brooks wrote a while back, don’t kid yourself, he’s not Obambi.

But to me, more illuminating than any of his policy gymnastics was the jaw-dropping sight yesterday of the Illinois senator trotting his two daughters into a TV interview with Access Hollywood. It was a stunner because that interview now guarantees that his little girls will be hounded by the press forevermore and he will not have leg to stand on to prevent it.

Now, we know there three things he has to persuade people of before November (because McCain will be telling people the opposite):

1) That he is a “patriot” and not a national security wimp;

2) That he will not raise middle class taxes;

3) That is is not a radical Muslim/black supremacist but a nice, normal guy with a nice, normal family.

So here’s the thing: if he’s willing to go so far as to feed his precious daughters to the media to advance objective #3, just think of how far he will go on items #1 and #2. If you understand the significance of that TV interview, it’s hard to be shocked by his vote on FISA.