Yesterday, Ed Morrissey picked up a story by David Broder about Obama potential damaging his brand, and one paragraph stands out in light of a Washington Post story today. Ed writes

Broder wonders whether Obama has built sufficient trust with the American electorate to begin on this series of reversals. Dick Morris last week referred to this as “political antibodies”, which candidates build up from a long period of public service. Voters get to know them from years of action, and that gives politicians the ability to be flexible, especially as circumstances change. For instance, most voters understand McCain’s shift on off-shore drilling, because circumstances have not just changed but have made life more difficult for Americans across the board.

In contrast, Obama has almost no public record at all — no legislative track record, no executive experience, no foreign-policy experience, and no military experience. He has not built public trust, but has become popular through his promises of reform. He claims the mantle of crusader, someone who will courageously attack Beltway business as usual and bring a new era of government excellence as a result.

All of which makes today’s Wash Post story all the funnier, as Obama tries to reintroduce himself to deflect away from who he really is, and who he portrayed himself as during the Democrat primaries

In the opening weeks of the general-election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama has moved aggressively to shape his campaign and offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become in the months ahead: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map, a ruthless fundraiser and a scrupulous manager of his own biography in the face of persistent concerns about how he is perceived.

Obama’s early maneuvers suggest a clear understanding within the campaign of his strengths and weaknesses. He bought air time in 18 states, a sure sign that he hopes to expand Democrats’ traditional electoral map. He opted out of the public campaign-financing system — revealing his determination to press his financial advantage, even at the cost of handing his Republican opponent the opportunity to raise questions about the sincerity of his rhetoric on reform.

And with a first ad that delves into his biography, Obama acknowledged ongoing concerns among his advisers that voters do not know whether he shares the values and beliefs of ordinary Americans, a potentially critical vulnerability. The ad speaks to the reality that enough questions were raised about Obama through the long nomination battle that he needs to address them. The campaign’s concerns include both taking on misinformation — such as the persistent claim that he is Muslim when he is in fact a Christian — and framing a biography unlike that of any nominee in the modern era.

Followed up massive amounts of “the American People do not really know Obama!”, which means, of course, that the long primary allowed the middle ground voters to learn who he really is, and he is not someone who has their best interests at heart, not someone who shares their same values, and not someone who they will trust. Obama breaks his word. He speaks in platitudes and sweeping rhetoric, but has very little experience to back it up. He was on the wrong side of the Surge, and refuses to acknowledge the successes of The Surge. He wants direct talks with America’s enemies with no pre-conditions. He is the one playing the race card, and white middle America, a pretty big voter block, does not appreciate being called racists simply because they disagree with Obama’s soaring rhetoric of hope and change and change and hope.

They do not appreciate being called bitter because they love God and own guns. They do not appreciate the wife of Obama and her “first time I have been proud of my country” yammering. Middle American’s are proud people who do not want government running their lives. And, again, while they certainly do not trust politicians that much, they expect them to at least keep their word on the big issues, which, so far, Obama is not.

He can fake who he is all he wants, but, contrast that with John McCain. People know John McCain. He has a long record, some of which people like, some of which drives Conservatives nuts. But, you know where he stands. You know what he will do. He has the track record to say “ya know, that is not working. I am going to change my position so that the problem can be fixed.”

Interestingly, the more Obama tries to reintroduce himself to lie to middle America and middle ground Republicans, the more he will enrage his base.