Monday, June 23, 2008

BARACK OBAMA, JOHN MCCAIN

Measuring the Flip-Flops

U.S. News and World Report offers dueling op-eds on whether Obama or McCain made the bigger flip-flop. It will not surprise you that I think and that Bonnie Erbe has the easier case to make in saying it was Obama; John Mashek's submission, meandering into criticism of both presidents named Bush and lamenting "refinery capacity isn't ready," as if no one has been arguing to build new refineries for decades, is so incoherent that I hope someone over there will inquire as to his health.

(Okay, when a columnist writes, "Bush's son has waited until now to plead with the Saudis for more production. They are going to produce a trickle compared to the need," and the previous day the Saudis announce they're increasing production from to an all-time high and new fields going on line next month, the column really ought to go to rewrite. Of course, all of that is also a bit odd in a column allegedly about McCain's flip-flops.)

Slate tackles the issue, too, and concludes Obama's change is the bigger mistake. "If these flip-flops reflect character attributes, then it's Obama who emerges more vulnerable. Breaking a promise is a problem of a higher order than changing a policy position. Our mothers told us not to break promises; they were silent on the question of drilling."

The left seems to think, "Kerry was called a flip-flopper and lost... We'll call McCain a flip-flopper and he'll lose, too." Kerry's voted for the war in October 2002. The war began in March 2003, and then by October 2003, he was opposing funding for the war, one of only 12 senators. Kerry's ability to shift from supporting military action to wanting to pull the plug in a span of several months did not reassure voters; could the country afford a president who charted a difficult policy course and who suddenly turned back the moment public support disappeared? That's why the "windsurfing" ad worked - not because Kerry looked silly in a wetsuit, but because his position du jour reflected whichever way the wind was blowing.

McCain has, indeed, changed his position on offshore drilling. But a position that looks wise when gas is $1.50 a gallon may not look so wise when gas is $4.10 a gallon and everything Americans buy is getting more expensive as a result of it. Stephen Colbert faux-praised/mocked President Bush as a man who "believes on Thursday the same thing he believed on Tuesday, no matter what happened on Wednesday." After seven years of mockin Bush for being inflexible, McCain changes his policy to adapt to a dramatically changing environment, and he gets mocked and derided for it.

I actually think that a candidate can even change his position in response to a changing political environment, as long as they're honest about it. "The votes just aren't there, public support isn't there, so I have to put this proposal on the back burner for a while," is a perfectly legitimate response to a difficult position.

06/23 12:32 PMShare