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In his sharpest criticism yet of John McCain and Sarah Palin, Barack Obama went after the idea that the Republicans represent change while campaigning in Terre Haute, IN today.

For the first time Obama went directly after Sarah Palin, “I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she’s change, and that’s great. She’s a skillful politician. But, you know, when you’ve been taking all these earmarks when it’s convenient, and then suddenly you’re the champion anti-earmark person, that’s not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.”

He also mocked the idea of John McCain as a change agent, “And suddenly he’s the change agent? Ha. He says, ‘I’m going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.’ Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who’s one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager, who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? I mean, come on, they must think you’re stupid.”

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Obama is accurate on both accounts. Palin and McCain are agents of changing their own positions. In Palin’s case she was for earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere before she against them and McCain likes to say that he went against his party on immigration, which he did, but then he flip-flopped to party’s position, and now does not even speak about immigration reform on the campaign trail.

I don’t know why the McCain campaign is attempting to use another strategy from the failed Hillary Clinton primary playbook. Clinton was able to beat Obama in the primaries when she started talking about the economy and policy, not by trying out change agent him. The GOP will not beat Obama in November by trying to run a personality campaign. Obama owns the change mantle, and I don’t see how a 72 year old Washington insider, who agrees with the current administration, and whose campaign is run by lobbyists can be seriously viewed by voters as someone who will bring change.

All quotes came from here.