The Guide to Political Flip-Flops

The BBC gives us a guide to follow the various flip-flops of both Barack Obama and John McCain:

In order to pass their political driving test, successful politicians need to be masters of one tricky manoeuvre in particular - the U-turn.

The candidates have shifted their positions on a number of policies

The contenders in this year's US presidential election are no exceptions - both John McCain and Barack Obama have engaged in some nifty repositioning.

Mr McCain's U-turns have mostly increased his appeal to the Republican Party's base, placing him on a rightward trajectory.

Barack Obama has been performing a more traditional manoeuvre: running to the left during the primaries, when party activists need to be wooed, then shifting to the centre once the nomination is clinched.

Flip-flopping politicians will always attract charges of hypocrisy and opportunism: it may be worth it if it helps them win over undecided voters in the middle, but when the goal is to shore up their political base, the benefits are much less clear.

You can read all the examples here. My guess is that McCain has one big flip left - drilling in ANWR, and Obama is just getting started.