Chaudhuri on Obama's move to the right

Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of the Hindustan Times has some interesting comments on what I'm calling the Kerry moment of the Democratic presidential campaign.

Chaudhuri believes Obama's speech advocating unilateral action in Pakistan is the beginning of a new phase among Democratic frontrunners when they go beyond simply suggesting withdrawing from Iraq, the"wrong war," but start suggesting instead new battlefields for the "right war."

It is important for Obama to lead this shift because the other candidates do not want him to take the spotlight as the viable candidate who opposed the Iraq War from the start. Now that he is fighting for the strongest position on the right, the other Democratic frontrunners have shown no hesitation in joining a game they truly believe in anyway.

Obama made this move, according to Chaudhuri, because of polls which have consistently shown Hillary Clinton ahead. His campaign apparently believes this is primarily because Obama is seen as weaker and/or less experienced than Clinton.

The Democrats look likely to be drawn into another "cowboy" contest with the Republicans as happened in the Kerry campaign, with the Iraq War now a secondary consideration.

Unlike the Republicans who play to their base, Democrats look like they will again desert their own base to take a center right position.

Note that by the time the next president takes office, only one other Democrat has been elected chief executive in the last 28 years -- Bill Clinton who "pioneered" the idea that the Democratic base was too far to the "left."

Interestingly also, the Bush administration and at least one Republican frontrunner have come out openly slamming Obama's warnings, and attempting to appear more moderate.

“We consider him (President Musharraf) as a major partner. We have good relations with him and we respect the sovereignty of Pakistan,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns said today. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has also spoken out against Obama's statements calling for greater cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.