Is Obama's 16-Month Timeline Out the Window?

Obama must have learned something in Iraq. Either that, or he is simply continuing the trend of changing positions more frequently than most people change underwear.

This startling revelation comes from an interview with Newsweek today:

You've been talking about those limited missions for a long time. Having gone there and talked to both diplomatic and military folks, do you have a clearer idea of how big a force you'd need to leave behind to fulfill all those functions?

(OBAMA) - I do think that's entirely conditions-based. It's hard to anticipate where we may be six months from now, or a year from now, or a year and a half from now.

What? It's entirely conditions based??? Now maybe I'm wrong, but hasn't Obama been mocking this position for the last couple of years?

What happened to the guy who said this a few months ago:

"In order to end this war responsibly, I will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. We can responsibly remove on to two combat brigades each month. If we start with the number of brigades we have in Iraq today, we can remove all of them 16 months." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Iraq, Fayetteville, NC, 3/19/08)

If Obama is attempting to co-opt McCain's message, or "triangulate" he should realize that -- though he is a great speaker -- he is not as talented at stealing his opponents ideas as Bill Clinton once was. This sort of maneuver requires more than just audacity, it also requires finesse -- a quality Obama clearly does not possess.

Obama might want to consider the following questions: Will young voters continue to be excited by a guy who clearly doesn't stand for anything? How about the Nut-roots? And will the press finally call him on this? Stay tuned ...