CNN: The Republicans are well aware of Obama's attempts to claim victory in Georgia.What do they know.
Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss held a conference call with reporters Monday ahead of Obama's visit and pointed to a recent poll that shows McCain with a 10-point lead in their state.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution published an editorial Tuesday headlined, "Obama tries to make Georgia seem in play; it isn't."
"If Obama wins Georgia, he'll occupy the White House," conservative AJC columnist Jim Wooten wrote.
Obama says he's not shifting positions.
WaPo: Tuesday broadly dismissed recent stories that he is moving toward the political center, saying he has always held certain centrist views -- on encouraging faith, on the right of individuals to own guns -- and that attempts to portray him otherwise are the work of cynics.
One supporter, a self-declared "reformed Republican," asked Obama at a town hall meeting to describe his true position on Iraq, following a spate of stories saying Obama is changing his position.
Obama, egged on by a raucous audience, said he would like to address "this whole notion that I am shifting to the center, or that I am flip-flopping."
"The people who say this apparently haven't been listening to me," Obama said. "And I have to say, some of them are my friends on the left and some of the media, I am somebody who is no doubt progressive." He listed ways he says he is progressive -- on providing universal health care coverage, increased teacher pay -- but then said that on other matters he believes in "personal responsibility" and faith.
On Iraq, Obama declared unequivocally his commitment to withdrawal, making no reference to his statement last week that he could "refine" his strategy after taking office.
"I have also consistently said, once we were in, we had to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in, because once you get in, you've got to make sure our troops are safe," he said. "You've got to make sure the country doesn't collapse so what I've called for is a phased withdrawal, a phased redeployment." He continued: "Now, assuming that I take office in January, then that means that we would still have our troops there for about two more year from now. There's nothing rushed about that... When I hear John McCain saying we can't surrender, we can't wave the white flag -- nobody's talking about surrender. We're talking about common sense."
