I believe you
OK, Mary Anne, I know that I risked leaving you with the impression I was saying that others told you to think, but I believe you when you say you got your anger from the horse's mouth. One exception doesn't negate my observation of the remarkable uniformity of opinion on the matter.
Clinton's campaign and the VRWC jumped on the issue so quickly that it's taken a couple of days for Obama to respond. Clicking beyond alcaray's link to the 2004 video brought me to Obama's written response....
"Senator Obama has said many times in this campaign that Americans are understandably upset with their leaders in Washington for saying anything to win elections while failing to stand up to the special interests and fight for an economic agenda that will bring jobs and opportunity back to struggling communities. And if John McCain wants a debate about who's out of touch with the American people, we can start by talking about the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that he once said offended his conscience but now wants to make permanent."
quoted at Talking Points Memo
That same page has a 3-1/2 minute video with a comprehensive response.
I have no way of certifying that his explanation is correct, or whether he's trying to spin his way out of a gaffe. I lean toward believing it for the simple reason that it's consistent. I was able to speculate about what he meant before hearing his rebuttal, and my speculations were in the right ballpark. Especially my interpretation of his comments as critical of politicians in the past making grandiose promises and not keeping them.
The negative interpretation requires one to believe that Obama's been lying the whole time, and this one statement is a glimpse of an inner truth inconsistent with everything he's been saying. Maybe so. But the odds favor the belief that it was just infelicitous phrasing.
I think it's a tempest in a teapot and won't change things in the long run. As you say, the bottom line is "I'll vote against McCain regardless of who the nominee is". Early on I was willing to give McCain the benefit of the doubt based on his biography, but now his biography is in conflict with his policies. The "maverick" promises us four more years--no way in hell!
I'm sorry this has been a personal aggravation for you. If the standard interpretation were correct you'd be entirely justified in your anger. It's just that I think that the standard interpretation is incorrect, and thus you needn't be angry...and trust me, I'd much prefer a world in which you're not angry.