When is a flip-flop not a flip flop?
When it’s someone from YOUR party who you like who’s doing it (then it’s a thoughtful reconsideration of a past position).
When is a flip-flop a flip flop?
When someone from the OTHER party is doing it (then it’s sleazy politics as usual).
What else can you conclude about the LATEST example of what seems to be award-winning flip flop action by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney – the square-jawed businessman quickly emerging as a highly telegenic and formidable politico who is to political consistency what fired broadcaster Don Imus was to politically correct speech:
Mitt Romney, who as a presidential candidate has already drawn criticism for changes in his positions on other social issues, is now facing questions on whether he has shifted his stand on expanded federal support for embryonic stem cell research.
The question is not only highly charged but also at least potentially quite personal: Mr. Romney’s wife, Ann, suffers from multiple sclerosis, one of the diseases that supporters of the research say could someday be cured by it.
Because standard research entails destruction of embryos, federal financing is currently allowed only for work on those stem cell lines that already existed in August 2001, when President Bush adopted that cutoff as his administration’s policy.
But in a little-noticed moment at the first Republican presidential debate, last month in California, Mr. Romney was asked whether he would encourage broader federal financing. When he did not directly answer that question, he was pressed on whether scientists should be able to do research at all on embryos that fertility clinics would otherwise discard anyway.
Mr. Romney said he would be “happy to allow that,†then stopped himself and said: “I shouldn’t say happy. It’s fine for that to be allowed, to be legal. I won’t use our government funds for that.â€
The New York Times notes that Peter G. Flaherty, Mr. Romney’s deputy campaign manager who worked for Romney when he was governor, insists there is no inconsistency. But the press has been peppered with LOTS of stories such as these on Google News about Mr. Romney’s seemingly graceful position shifts — which suggest that if the Presidency doesn’t work out he can always become a top ballerina. Or a chiropractor.
The irony is that the issue of flip flops illustrates that political partisans flip flop on….flip flops.
When Senator John Kerry ran for President, the phrase “flip flops” was part of the GOP boilerplate talking points. It was then insinuated that anyone who flip-flopped so much on issues a) didn’t have the character to be President, b) didn’t have the principles to be President and c) was shallow and just a political hack. He flip-flopped so how could he serve in the Oval Office?
Democrats defended Kerry, but it’s highly unlikely the “flip flop” charge did him in. The bottom line is that his campaign is not one that will be studied by future political wannabes as a terrific one. He made too many mistakes and waited too long to answer steady and withering Republican attacks.
Now, Romney seems to be flip flopping like a water-starved halibut reeled in on a fishing trip — as these stories on Google Web suggest. (OH: and in answer to the inevitable comment: this post is not about Bill Clinton but pegged to a New York Times story about Romney flip flops so “But under Clinton…” doesn’t negate the former Massachusetts governor’s truly impressive recasting of positions in a way that GOP voters who were so worked up over Kerry flip-flops will excuse or overlook his).
It’s the nature of politics in 21st Century America that partisans are outraged when one side does something but will excuse it, justify it, enable it, defend it, or ignore it if it happens on their side. This is perhaps partially why you see an increase in the number of independent voters..
The goal is TO W-I-N. And it’s hard to win if you’re tackling your own quarterback, even if he does seem flawed or is exhibiting behavior you screeched about when the other side exhibited it.
On the other hand, stories such as the above won’t help Romney much if former Senator and actor Fred Thompson jumps into the primaries and lives up to his huge advance hype as a new Ronald Reagan (with admittedly less hair, wit, stature as a leading conservative leader, and experience as a government executive).
Traditional conservatives now seem to have overdosed on the politics of expediency and are looking for someone who may actually have a history that shows they may believe (even a teensy-weensy bit) the values they mouth on the stump as their election-year core convictions.
There seem to be two life-changing experiences in life.
Being jailed makes people find God.
And running for President makes people discover their old positions were wrong (which just coincidentally pleases the voters who they are trying to woo…but it’s just a coincidence..).
There is a third: seeing what the kitchen actually looks like at your favorite restaurant..
Politicians have flip flopped for years. Probably even before flip flop sandals were invented. But they were often called on it — and paid a price.
But Mr. Romney seems to have such a huge talent at adjusting his positions on a series of issues (see both of our Google links) and generally getting away with it that he might consider auditioning his skill for NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
In a sense, it isn’t Thompson who’s like Ronald Reagan, it’s Romney: he’s telegenic, comes across as sincere (even when he jettisons a past position) — and is proving to be a Teflon candidate.
And John McCain is proving to be a Velcro candidate.
Who do you think is going to do better in the primaries — and whom do you think the Democrats should fear?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.