Well, I thought that by now the candidates would be locked down in their positions, but realities have caught up with the ideology McCain has traditionally espoused. In light of the collapsing of cornerstone companies over the past few days and the panic on Wall Street, John McCain is calling for more government regulation.

Just a few months ago he proclaimed "I am fundamentally a deregulator." He has said "I am always for less regulation." But as Paul Krugman has said, "just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no free market ideologues during a financial crisis." After two days of being bashed on the issue by both his opponent and the media for saying "the fundamentals of the economy remain strong" as the markets go into the worst tailspin in years, this morning he has seen the light.

He's also on dangerous ground right now, because much of what's happening is reminiscent of the S&L crisis of the 1980s, and may bring up some discussion of the Keating Five, five senators who ran interference for Keating afoul of rules of ethics and possibly laws, one of which was John McCain.

And of all of the flip-flops of the year, this one may be the most crucial. It'll be interesting to see how his conservative brethren respond.

Meanwhile, those of us with liberal leanings welcome McCain to the fold, however brief the visit might be.