Whiplash II

Ed Morrissey has more fall out for Senator Obama today.

The New York Times editorial board went to bed with a virgin and woke up with a … well, a pro, in milder terms, or so they seem to imply in today’s unhappy missive. The editorial castigates Obama for his replacement of just about everything he has professed from January 2007 to May 2008 with his all-new, 50%-more-”centery” agenda that rejects everything that made him attractive to the Left in the first place. And they wonder where it will all stop:

To say that the NY Times is disillusioned with their candidate is a bit of an understatement.

On top of these perplexing shifts in position, we find ourselves disagreeing powerfully with Mr. Obama on two other issues: the death penalty and gun control.

Mr. Obama endorsed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the District of Columbia’s gun-control law. We knew he ascribed to the anti-gun-control groups’ misreading of the Constitution as implying an individual right to bear arms. But it was distressing to see him declare that the court provided a guide to “reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.”

What could be more reasonable than a city restricting handguns, or requiring that firearms be stored in ways that do not present a mortal threat to children?

We were equally distressed by Mr. Obama’s criticism of the Supreme Court’s barring the death penalty for crimes that do not involve murder.

We are not shocked when a candidate moves to the center for the general election. But Mr. Obama’s shifts are striking because he was the candidate who proposed to change the face of politics, the man of passionate convictions who did not play old political games.

At first blush, it appears that the Times is taking the Senator to task here however the Logical Husband pointed out the following...

We knew he ascribed to the anti-gun-control groups’ misreading of the Constitution as implying an individual right to bear arms.

...and commented on the nice way that the Times used this as a tacit "he's not as socialist as you think he is" or "see he's more conservative than we are!" centrist endorsement. Now the Logical Husband grew up in New York and with the NY Times. He knows their style of doing things. He also has a New Yorkers tendency to be just a little cynically pragmatic.

It could very well be that the NY Times is mirroring the far lefts disillusionment with Senator Obama's campaign. It could really be that straight forward. However, it does give one pause....a reason to stop and think about what is really going on in the minds of the editorial board at the New York Times.