The Tarnished Brand

While Barack will still use the words about being an agent of change, and voters will still fall for it, the brand has been effectively ruined.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama sought the Democratic presidential nomination by pledging to rise above partisan politics and bring to Washington a more public-spirited way of governing. By rejecting the public finance system to pay for his general election campaign — thus avoiding the limits it would impose on spending — Obama demonstrated that he is a politician like most others: one for whom principles must bow to expedience.

The worst of all possible damage has been done to the Change brand because now, people who defend Barack, do so by saying, "Well, McCain did the same thing!" That defense represents a guilty plea as a result of Barack having raised the bar so high for himself.

However, in first declaring his intention to seek public funds and then changing his mind, Obama is no worse than McCain. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee sought public funds during the primary, used their availability to secure bank loans and then improperly opted out of public finance when adequate private donations began to flow.

Who would have imagined, just a few weeks ago, that "Barack's no worse than McCain," would have been deemed an attempt at complimenting Barack's politics?

Obama's change of heart is vulnerable to criticism on several counts: His flip-flop shows that on some matters he cannot say what he means and then stick to his word. The switch also flies in the face of Obama's claims to be devoted to reform and transformative change.