1). Immigration:  

John McCain used to support amnesty for illegal immigrants. May 29, 2003 interview: "Amnesty has to be an important part because there are people who have lived in this country for 20, 30 or 40 years, who have raised children here and pay taxes here and are not citizens." Dec. 15, 2000 press release: "I support the Latino and Immigrant Fairness Act (LIFA). Negotiations between the White House and the leadership, which endorsed more limited immigration reform, have resulted in a compromise.... this bill makes meaningful but insufficient progress on amnesty for those wrongly denied it. [Source: Factcheck.org] 

McCain 2008: 

“Look, I have said time after time that no one can be reward for illegal behavior. The context of that conversation, don't you call that "amnesty." I have said in hundreds of hours of debate on the Senate floor, we reward no one for illegal behavior They have to pay fines. They have to take the naturalization. About two million people here in this country who have come illegally, have committed crimes here in America, and they have to be deported immediately.” [Source: Meet the Press Candidates 2008 series] 

2). Abortion:  

In 1999, McCain didn’t support repealing Roe v. Wade. “I’d love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.” [Source: San Francisco Chronicle]

McCain 2008: 

“I am pro-life and an advocate for the Rights of Man everywhere in the world, because to be denied liberty is an offense to nature and nature's Creator. I will never waver in that conviction. Our liberty will not be seized in a political revolution or by a totalitarian government. But, rather, as Burke warned, it can be "nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts." I am alert to that risk and will defend against it, and I will be encouraged in that defense by my fellow conservatives.” [Source: Conservative Political Action Conference Feb 7, 2008] 

3). Offshore Drilling: 

McCain used to be a staunch opponent of offshore drilling. Here is what a questionnaire from the Sustainable Energy Coalition said about his position on offshore drilling, “Senator John McCain, who criticized the Clinton Administration for its decision to extend 36 offshore oil leaves along the central California coast over the objections of that state's Governor and Attorney General, has promised to never lose sight of the fundamental principle that federal land management decisions affecting local communities must be made in cooperation with the Americans who call those communities home." 

McCain 2008:  

"We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use.” [Speech Houston, TX June 17,2008] 

4). The Bush Tax Cuts: McCain was one of only two Senate  

Republicans to vote against the Bush tax cuts in 2001. “I am disappointed that the Senate Finance Committee preferred instead to cut the top tax rate of 39.6% to 36%, thereby granting generous tax relief to the wealthiest individuals of our country at the expense of lower- and middle-income American taxpayers.” [McCain Senate floor statement, May 21, 2001] 

McCain 2008: 

“I will not let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts. I believe we should protect the American family against partisan tax increases by requiring a three-fifths majority in Congress to raise taxes. But that is just a start.” [Detroit Economic Club, October 9, 2007] 

5). The Economy: This is a record even for McCain. He managed to change his position on whether or not Americans were better off now than they were 8 years ago overnight. In an April 17 interview with Bloomberg TV, McCain said, “I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created, et cetera, et cetera, you could make an argument that there’s been great progress economically over that period of time. But that’s no comfort. That’s no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges.” 

The next day in an interview with Al Hunt on the very same network McCain said, “I respect the views of people who basically think that the status quo is satisfactory today. I don’t. I think Americans are hurting, and hurting badly. In fact, I think Americans are not better off than they were eight years ago, when you look at what’s happened to middle-income Americans.” [Source: Thinkprogress.org]

Critically, the Democratic advantage balloons among young people most likely to vote. Among core voters—young people with some vote history—and among young people who describe their likelihood of voting as a ten on a ten-point scale, Obama’s vote share reaches 66 percent. 

These outcomes reflect three distinct but complementary trends. Since our last look at the youth vote two months ago, Obama consolidated the Democratic base and improved among groups that, in the broader electorate, sometimes proved elusive in the primary, groups like white women, Hispanics and even blue collar voters. At the same time, we see a near-disintegration of the Republican brand among youth. Since our first report in 2007, this series has chronicled the profound alienation of America’s youth from the Grand Old Party in both quantitative studies and focus groups. This study shows the problem growing dramatically worse. That has now been accompanied by a crash of the “McCain brand” among young voters, turning sharply negative over the last two months.