On Saturday night, Senator Obama said he changed his mind on welfare reform:

The senator cited welfare reform as the most significant issue in the last 10 years on which he had changed his mind, explaining that he had worried the reform efforts – which sought to move people off welfare rolls to work – would be a disaster, but that it had turned out much better than he had anticipated and he was convinced that work must be a centerpiece of any social policy.

That’s odd, because on his website he challenges ABC for saying he changed his mind on welfare reform:

Fact Check on ABC Claim That Obama Has Shifted on Welfare Reform
July 01, 2008
OBAMA PASSED WELFARE REFORM IN ILLINOIS THAT MOVED PEOPLE FROM WELFARE TO WORK AND GAVE THEM TOOLS TO ALLOW THEM TO DO THAT WORK, LIKE CHILD CARE AND TRANSPORTATION, AND WAS PRAISED BY REPUBLICANS FOR HIS WORK
Obama Passed Law Creating The Illinois Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Program, Including A Six-Fold Increase In Daycare Spending. Obama was a chief co-sponsor of the bill to create the state of Illinois’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The bill created flexibility for victims of domestic violence, set a five-year limit for receiving public assistance, banned anyone convicted of a serious drug-related Class X or Class 1 felony from ever receiving assistance, required that all recipients develop a personal plan for self-sufficiency, listing the steps they will take to move from welfare to work, exempted those over 60 and adults with children younger than 1. According to the State Journal-Register, “The bill pours more money into day-care spending…as a result, an estimated 90,000 families would be able to take advantage of the child care benefit, subject to legislative appropriation of necessary funds. That represents a six-fold increase from the current number… State Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, called the bill a good start but urged members not to rule out future changes to the system. He said there is a need for a commission to oversee the changes and ensure the system is working properly. ‘(Welfare recipients) generally are not represented down here in Springfield. They don’t have powerful lobbies. They do not contribute to our political candidates,’ he said. Consequently, Obama said, if there are problems with this bill, it is not clear they will be addressed. [­90th GA, HB 204, 3R P 56-1-1, 5/31/97, PA 90-0017, 6/19/97; State Journal Register, 6/1/97]