Here's the relevant question: How far will McCain go to court Clinton voters and Independents at the risk of alienating the base?
Over the weekend, he told former Clinton supporters that he voted for Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer because they were "qualified." Oh yes. That will go over well with the conservative base. They may be qualified but if they showed in previous rulings to be inconsistent with McCain's judicial philosophy, why vote for them? That's why U.S. Senators consider that vote to be one of the most important ones they ever take.
He then went on to say how he has no "litmus test" for his judicial picks. Yet the Obama campaign points to a 2005 New Yorker article where conservative leader Gary Bauer was quoted as saying:
"I wanted a commitment from either George Bush or John McCain that if elected he would appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court…Bush said he had no litmus test, and his judges would be strict constructionists. But McCain, in private, assured me he would appoint pro-life judges."
Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan notes the inconsistency and tells the Brody File:
"In telling his conservative base one thing behind closed doors and independent voters another thing in public, John McCain's raised serious questions about whether he can be trusted by either. If John McCain doesn't want to impose a litmus test on judges he owes Mr. Bauer the courtesy of correcting the record, and if he does want to impose such a litmus test he owes voters the duty of some actual straight talk."
The Brody File contacted Bauer and he told me the following:
"When I met privately with Senator McCain in 2000 he did not tell me that he would have a pro-life "litmus test" for judges. Instead he described the type of judicial philosophy he would require in his judicial appointments. I interpreted that judicial philosophy to be one that would reject judicial activism.
"Senator Obama is the one with a credibility problem, not Senator McCain. Senator Obama says he wants a compassionate American where the 'little guy' is protected. Instead he proudly supports partial birth abortion, and abortions in the last months of pregnancy. He abandons the littlest guy of all - our unborn children."
So Gary Bauer did indeed clear that up for the record. But let's not lose sight of the larger picture. McCain's problem with the base is that deep down they don't trust him.
Check out this behind-the-scenes exchange on McCain's stance on marriage issues reported on the Politico from that meeting with Clinton supporters:
Another person who was present, but asked not to be named to avoid conflict with fellow Democrats, said he'd pressed a McCain staffer on McCain's position on same-sex marriage. The staffer "said it was the same as (John) Kerry's position," he said.
Huh? In a way that is true because Kerry and McCain are both against a federal marriage amendment yet believe man should be between a man and a woman. However, they differ on civil unions. Trying to cater to two audiences is dangerous.
Here's the problem McCain faces. When he reaches out to former Clinton supporters and moderates he risks alienating the base even more. It's called "The Tap Dance." Cue the music, Click here