McCain: Pandering or actually changing?

Let us be honest, John McCain is 71. This shouldn't be an issue even though for some it is. He has a sharp mind (whether one agrees with his policies or not). He's lived his life by his values and convictions for 71 years. When you run a campaign pandering, or rather political decisions/choices that benefit you are a must, whether it is toward ones base or toward the center or the other side in McCain's case on some issues.
Many have been writing and at times even literally yelling that McCain has been flip-flopping. When this is said, one should stop and ask how likely it is that a 71 year old has actually changed his feelings or beliefs about something as opposed to making political calculations. Politically it would be suicide to want to turn back or "tweak" the Bush tax cuts but should we actually believe that those cuts now sit well with him? Or ignore that he has always been for tax cuts, he has just also always wanted cuts in spending like his very own legislation had in it? Ask the same question when it comes to him recently saying he'd like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. How much of a flip-flop, or change, or even a pander play is it when he's always said he was "pro-life" and one of, if not his absolute favorite Supreme Court Justice is Scalia who is very well known for wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Both of these pandering moves are to ignite his base which is why you aren't hearing his supporters talk about him changing because they merely see it as finally being on the right side of the issues. It is only "flip-flopping" and a bad thing if it happens by someone from the other political party, that is how both Democrats and Republicans see it.