The point I take away from this is: Obama is (drum roll please) a somewhat-left-of-the-middle-of-the-road Democrat.

He re-re-reversed the ban on overseas abortion funding that Bush had re-reversed that Clinton had reversed that Reagan had instituted as a gesture towards his pro-abortion supporters.

Now there is an effort, unlikely to pass but public enough because of the nature of the weapons mentioned that serves as a gesture towards his pro-gun restriction supporters.

More than a few etc.'s to be added to those two if you scan the particulars of the recent spending/stimulus bills and executive orders.

Why am I supposed to be surprised by this? Its garden variety image politics and ALL of the last 5 occupants have played this game.

Now, it does seem to undercut Obama's claim to be a "new type" of political leader, but I'd suggest that nobody -- not even a majority of our far too ignorant voters -- really expected things to be different. Same Calimari, different spicing.