We all know how badly John Kerry was affected by the flip-flopper title in 04. In his Sunday Op-ed, Frank Rich only briefly mentions a point that should have decent traction come general election season:
Just 36 hours after the Mississippi debacle, Mr. McCain tried to distance himself from the administration by flip-flopping on his signature issue, Iraq, suddenly endorsing just the kind of timetable for withdrawal he has characterized as "surrender" when proposed by Democrats or Mitt Romney. (When Mr. McCain proposes it, he labels it "victory.")
While I think we all agree that allowing the appeasement angle to play itself out (and hopefully SECDEF Gates' appeasement statements get some MSM play), Mr. Rich has offered up a tool for usage in a few months: TV ads of McCain blasting Now Running Mate/Then Primary contender Romney for lobbying for a troop withdrawal timeline, followed up by Mr. McCain's 5/15 speech promising major troop withdrawals by 2013. Maybe sprinkle in some 100 years footage while we are at it! The flip-flopper thing works, let's use it!