It’s a few days old and, alas for Hayworth fans, too late to save their guy from an impending drubbing, but since it’s a fait accompli that Maverick’s newfound “true conservative” persona will dissolve like sugar in water once he’s elected, we should have this somewhere in the archives for future reference once he does.

If you’re wondering what the audio here is referencing (does it matter?), Ace has the background. I’ll leave you with a few choice quotes from the New Yorker’s profile last month just to make sure you know that this is no idle charge being leveled by Hayworth:

Thus began the lurch to the right that has so captivated national media—the ones he used to call “my base”—and horrified the liberals who took McCain as an example of the right kind of conservative. But others defend him. “Does John McCain move around occasionally on issues?” asks Wes Gullett, a former McCain aide in Arizona and longtime supporter. “Yes. He’s fighting a fight. He’s a fighter. He goes to the sound of the battle.”

But McCain didn’t always like the sound he was hearing. An adviser in Arizona who knows McCain well says, “He doesn’t like doing what he’s doing.”…

Ironically, both McCain’s opponent and his own supporters agree on one thing: If he wins, he’ll probably morph yet again, a lame-duck senator with nothing to lose, tacking left to reclaim his old mantle as a thorn in his party’s side. It’s what friends like Graham envision for him.

“What I hope will happen is that he’ll be the force against excess and the person who can find that common ground we need to have as a nation. That’s what I hope will happen, and that’s what I expect will happen.”