Quote:
|
Originally Posted by joeshoe
Kerry as a flip-flopper was simply a campaign tactic. It may have tricked many people into thinking he was indecisive, but like j8ear wrote, all politicians are flip-floppers.
I must admit though, that Bush is particularly un-flip-floppish (i.e. stubborn), for better or worse, and that's why Kerry's natural politician's flippity-floppity-ness was so easy to emphasize.
|
DeLay deserves the shit he is getting in this thread--actually I think you all are going a little light on him. But I don't believe the "they are all flip-floppers" comments. These are the same as "they all do it" or "they are all corrupt." These are excuses to not talk about the issue at hand. Yes, all policitians have changed positions at one time or another. This doesn't mean that they are flip-floppers or that all flip-flopping is equal. I think Kerry was very adept and prolific at the flipping and flopping, much more so than most politicians. This isn't always a bad thing, but nuance can sometimes lead to indecision, stasis, and confusion. Witness his lack of really doing anything in the senate over several terms and the incoherance of his story on Iraq. I agree that Bush may be better off to flip and flop a little bit, but it wasn't the contrast that made Kerry a flipper, it was his own positions and his own words. The label stuck because it was mostly correct.