Democrat Obama rejects charges of flip-flopping

POWDER SPRINGS, Georgia (Reuters) - Democratic presidentialhopeful Barack Obama rejected charges on Tuesday that he hasshifted positions on Iraq and other issues as part of a move tothe political centre now that he is his party's nominee.

As he positions himself for the battle against RepublicanJohn McCain, the Illinois senator softened an earlier vow toreopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, did not opposea Supreme Court decision striking down Washington's gun ban andsaid he would support expanding the government's wiretapauthority.

Most recently, he signalled greater flexibility on hispledge to quickly pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, tellingreporters last week he might "refine" his views based on whathappens on the ground.

Asked about his Iraq policy at a town hall meeting inPowder Springs, Obama rejected claims he was softening hisinsistence on a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

He also said he hoped he could more generally counter "thiswhole notion that I am shifting to the centre or that I'mflip-flopping or this or that."

"You know, the people who say this apparently haven't beenlistening to me," Obama said.

The McCain campaign has eagerly accused Obama of shiftingposition for political expediency -- a tactic RepublicanPresident George W. Bush used successfully in his 2004re-election campaign against Democrat John Kerry.

"I think there's been definitely shifts in position, andone of them is Iraq," McCain told the Fox News Channel onTuesday.

Obama, who has a single-digit lead over McCain in the pollsheading toward the November election, has also been criticizedby some liberal supporters, particularly over his support forelectronic eavesdropping legislation.

Pundits believe he is attempting to position himself closerto the centre in hopes of winning over independent voters,moderate Democrats and some Republican voters who have growndisenchanted with Bush.

'LURCHING' TO THE RIGHT?

In an opinion piece in Tuesday's New York Times, columnistBob Herbert accused Obama of "lurching" away from liberalpositions. "Senator Obama is not just tacking gently toward thecentre," Herbert said. "He's lurching right when it suits him,and he's zigging with the kind of reckless abandon that'sguaranteed to cause disillusion, if not whiplash."

But Obama said he wanted his supporters to know thatalthough he might not agree with each of them on every issue,when he differs it is not because he is playing politics.

"One of the things that you find as you go through thiscampaign is that everybody became so cynical about politicsthat the assumption is that you must be doing everything forpolitical reasons," he said. "Don't assume that because I don'tagree with you on something that it must be because I'm doingthat politically."

Later, Obama, addressing Latino voters, accused McCain ofabandoning his position on immigration reform. "We need apresident who isn't going to walk away from something asimportant as comprehensive reform when it becomes politicallyunpopular," he told the League of United Latin AmericanCitizens.

McCain broke with his Republican party and worked for aplan to offer a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Butthe immigration plan failed in Congress. Obama has faultedMcCain for shifting during the fight for his party's nominationto an emphasis on the need to secure the U.S. borders beforeaddressing the status of illegal immigrants.

Speaking to the same Latino group earlier, McCain, whobelieves he has a chance to win over some Hispanic voters whohave traditionally been a part of the Democratic base,emphasized his economic proposals. McCain said his tax policieswould help fuel small-business growth.

"Small businesses are the job engine of America, and I willmake it easier for them to grow and create more jobs," theArizona senator said. On immigration, McCain noted he workedwith Senate colleagues twice to try to craft broad reform.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by SteveHolland; editing by Todd Eastham)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visitReuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online athttp://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)