Flip-flopping

I know I promised a followup to my Is John Kerry a flip-flopper? post today. Unfortunately, what with the voting age protests and the election tomorrow, I don't think I'll have time to do an in-depth post. I did do some research, and I'll summarize what my basic conclusion is (with an in-depth followup some other time).

My conclusion based on watching the first Democratic debate is: it is fair to call John Kerry a flip-flopper. His statements which are often quoted to support that claim are not quoted out of context. Some will often counter that there's a difference between being a flip-flopper for political gain, and simply changing your mind. They'll suggest that Bush is stubborn and incapable of changing his mind, as opposed to "steadfast" or "principled".

But here's the thing: if John Kerry actually changed his position on Iraq, he won't admit it. He says he had the same position all along. That simply isn't true. The apparent truth is he doesn't have a position at all.

On the other hand, Bush did change his mind, and will readily admit it. He changed his mind on September 11th. He promised, in 2000, a humble foreign policy. That was, up till that day, what he delivered. But then he changed our foreign policy, because his worldview changed.

The basic difference is between changing your overall strategy when the world has drastically changed, and between changing your position every couple of months when the political situation has changed. Bush seems to do the former (whether you agree with his strategy or not). Kerry seems to do the latter.