Laura Meckler reports from Aspen, Colo., on the presidential race:

Sen. John McCain usually enjoys hostile questions from the audience, though he appeared slightly irked by a man today who accused him of flip-flopping and suggested that McCain had labeled Barack Obama a traitor for his position on Iraq.

The questions came at the Aspen Institute, a think tank that sponsors a string summer speakers. One of the first was from an Arizonan who said he had proudly voted for McCain for the Senate partly because he had spoken out against the “Christian right” and opposed “immoral and wrong” tax cuts during a time of war.

“I’m somewhat concerned that now you’ve flipped on some of those maverick positions,” he said.

He then posed his question: “When you came out and stated that you thought Barack Obama would rather lose a war to win an election–I heard that as you calling him a traitor. Because that’s what a member of the U.S. Senate who would feel that way actually would be,” he said. “Do you think Barack Obama is a traitor? Do you still believe that he really would rather lose a war in order to lose an election? If you do what makes you say that?”

McCain seized on the flip-flopper charge.

“What areas do you think I have changed my position?” he asked.

The questioner said he had “clearly changed” his position on the need for tax cuts at a time of war. While McCain opposes enactment of the Bush tax cuts, he now wants to make them permanent.

“I respectfully disagree,” he said, saying that he was for tax cuts at the time but ones that were targeted to the middle class and that were accompanied by spending cuts.

“I’m proud of my position on tax cuts,” he said.

He then asked if the questioner had another example to offer.

“My question was …” the man began.

“No, no. You said that I flip-flopped on a number of issues. I’d like to hear where that is.”

The man said his attitude on the “Christian right” had “changed somewhat in an effort to appeal to your base.”

McCain replied: “I believe in a very large Republican Party. We have to be inclusive.” He said he is proud that he reconciled with the late Jerry Falwell, who he had labeled and “agent of intolerance.”

“I’ll continue a life that I hope is characterized by both redemption, which I badly need, and reconciliation,” he said.

He then got around to answering the question about Obama’s position on Iraq. He began by saying that last summer he called for increased troops in Iraq because it was the right thing to do. He said that Obama had to decide what his position would be.

“And Sen. Obama said that … the surge wouldn’t work, that it would fail. He voted to cut off funding for the men and women serving in Iraq. He refuses to acknowledge that the surge is succeeding. He announced after not being there for 900 days, he announced his policy on Iraq before left.”

He concluded: “I think he’s wrong and I think he used the issue of Iraq for political reasons to get the nomination of his party. That’s my answer to you.”