Arkady:

What's going to be interesting is to see how long his wholesale reinvention of himself can go before the mainstream media finally catches up and stops praising his straight-talking authenticity. The guy has swapped the lion's share of his political beliefs, over the past eight years, and has even swapped out his religion for a more politically expedient one. If he adds to that remaking his entire political style, with newfangled Hollywood adronments, at some point even the cretins who run the establishment press are going to have to realize what a phony he is. John McCain is a hollowed out man.

I think it's a sign of desperation in his campaign, especially since the odds are in Barack's favor. (See "Obama's Odds"