Pandering doesn’t fit here, no one is talking about embracing a position, it is about wasting time on a message that doesn’t work and replacing it with one that will work better.
Every campaign struggles to find the issues that interest the voters enough to persuade them to vote for them, and when a message doesn’t resonate they try a different one.
Every vote counts, and voting determines who is in office and who you are governed by, if you ignore how people vote then don’t be surprised by who wins the elections.
You and I see this differently, and there is nothing more to be said on it.