I feel like I’ve seen this ad in 50 different incarnations already from various candidates. Yes, the guy’s changed his position a bunch. The electorate is sufficiently well aware of this fact by now for various jokes to have been cracked about it at the debates, including Maverick’s (admittedly funny) line about Romney being the candidate of change. Between this and the garbage about withdrawal timetables, you start to wonder if he’s got a substantive line of attack on Mitt coming or if this is pretty much it. Or if that’ll even matter.

The guys at the Corner have already linked John Fund’s anecdote about McCain and Alito about six times today so I won’t rehash it, but I am intrigued by Fund’s preview of Maverick at CPAC. Is there anything he could say to the faithful assembled to make them warm to his candidacy? He’s so poisoned on immigration that the smart thing to do is probably just avoid the subject entirely and hammer the war, the war, the war. And, follow-up question, will it help or hurt McCain if he’s already clinched the nomination by the time he speaks?