Howard Kurtz comments on something today that should be obvious, but is still worth underlining in these wildly partisan times. Kurtz writes, regarding Obama’s views on the Supreme Court 2nd Amendment decision: Wouldn’t it be better for Obama to say he had thought more about such-and-such an issue and simply changed his mind? Is that verboten in American politics? Is it better to engage in linguistic pretzel-twisting in an effort to prove that you didn’t change your mind?
Kurtz clearly has a point. The term flip-flopping has flopped its way into our political lexicon and should now be banned. It is mere propaganda that almost always obscures the truth: a grown-up, when he has a good reason, changes his mind. Indeed, this is one of the hallmarks what being a grown-up is.
For example, John McCain opposed off-shore drilling for environmental reasons when gas was $2.50 a gallon. Now that it is close to double that, and drilling techniques have improved, he supports it. Logical? It is to me. But Obama is unable to make that change. His propagandists accuse McCain of “flip-flopping” on the matter, when the candidate merely adapted to new conditions.
On the other hand, as Ed Morrissey tells us, Obama has been doing some serious “flip-flopping” of his own: We used to call John Kerry a flip-flopper for his embarrassing quote on his opposition to Iraq war funding. Obama has now changed position on almost every key position in this election, and exposed himself as incompetent as a Constitutional law analyst as well.
But is “flip-flopper” the right term? To be a “flip-flopper,” you actually have to have a position, I would think. It may be, in a very real way, Obama does not. I would suggest most of his positions are simply ad hoc. In other words, he is more of “waffler” than a “flip-flopper.” Or simply expedient. What he is not is someone who changes his mind. If he is elected, too bad for us. (via Instapundit)
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6 Comments
1. Terrye:I think Obama is just politically opportunistic. He is a chameleon.
Jun 28, 2008 - 3:50 pm 2. Barry Dauphin:To some degree it depends upon what positions a politician changes (e.g., there’s a difference between core principles and a marginal issue one compromises on) and why (e.g., circumstances change or history steps in). Voters deserve to know there’s some there there. In Obama’s case, I think Terrye nails it: chameleon.
His voting record in the Senate might or might not give us an indication of what he’ll do. He might throw a lot of primary voters under the bus in order to win votes. He might even say something about Iraq indicating that we can disregard what he said before (until he says something else on the subject and we can disregard the latest new thing). But I get the sense he doesn’t believe in much of anything. I wasn’t a fan of Hillarycare, but I think she actually believes in it. I think he follows the polls more than the average politician. He out Clintoned Clinton. Probably explains why Bill is still so mad.
Jun 28, 2008 - 4:04 pm 3. Believer:“Flip-flopping” connotes rapidity to me, and repetition.
Think of a fish – caught – and hauled onto the deck of a ship. That slimey sucker is not where he wants to be, and he’s flipping and flopping all over the place.
Now think of Obama and his recent address to AIPAC. Two well-received words: “undivided Jerusalem.” They sounded so great at the time; surprising, but great. Less than 24 hours later, Obama was jumping around like a fish out of water.
Yep. Obama can flip and flop within hours on one issue alone. He’s fast alright, maybe not as fast as a fish, but every bit as slimey.
Jun 29, 2008 - 2:37 am 4. Peg C.:You have to have a mind to change it. Rumors to the contrary, I see no evidence of this in Obama. Or to put it in less simplistic terms, you must have principles and core beliefs in the first place, to make a coherent change or about-face on any of them. Obama shows zero evidence of any core beliefs other than in his own infallibility. Sorry, O: no human is infallible. Get over yourself.
Jun 29, 2008 - 1:40 pm 5. Leslie B:Thank you for putting so eloquently and simply what I’ve not been able to but have seen for quite some time. My twin daughters are 18 and getting to vote for the first time. I’m afraid they are both voting for reasons I’ve not been eloquent enough to refute, but maybe I can get them both to read this. This is obviously not all I would like them to know, but it’s a good start. Thank you!
Jun 30, 2008 - 9:22 pm 6. Neo:“inartful” now ranks up there with “inoperative”
What could be next ?
“I’m not a crook”
Jul 2, 2008 - 7:01 am