I'll admit it, I was thrown off the track by Obama's moves this week, but after better reflection, I'm rethinking my position.

That's exactly what threw me off--Obama's melding and changing line on several topics, most notably campaign finance and FISA. On the former, Obama came off looking arrogant, and on the latter he snubbed the liberal base by compromising on telecom immunity, a bete noir of the left.

Now I come to see his pragmatic and strategic moves to the center as smart and even principled. In terms of his campaign's overriding message this week, it has been "Obama can win." To put to rest, finally, Hillary's failed argument that only she could beat McCain. It's a step toward a robust fall campaign to come out saying "look at all the money and swing states we have."

Obama must be confident he has the party sewn up, and can go right at the general election campaign.

What the hell just happened? Obama went from giant slayer and man of the people to cocksure overachiever in the matter of a couple of weeks. He's stumbled badly since sewing up the nomination, and he needs to step up or get trampled.

Obama's even getting flackon the left--see Nader, Ralph--and the netroots is abuzz with disaffection over FISA and Obama's not-too-subtle shift to the center for "general election mode."

I'm a bit concerned, and would be more concerned if McCain weren't so badly flubbing his own campaign. I think calls for Obama to focus on poverty and real economic issues are correct. I always thought, since the Edwards endorsement, that Obama was going to make a central theme of his election the economic populism that Hillary Clinton supporters ate up in the primaries.

Hopefully, with Hillary stepping bac iunto the limelight on behalf of Obama, the Dems can unify the party and make a united front on economic issues that affect poor and struggling Americans. I don't think Obama can afford not to use Hillary's working-class white advantages to bolster his image among these groups.