You know who never changes his position, no matter how wrong the facts prove him to be? George W. Bush. He just keeps throwing out new reasons why he’s right, hoping one will stick.
Modifying an incorrect position or reversing yourself when the facts prove you wrong may well be a flip-flop. But it’s also the mark of a sane human being. Remember: it’s the crazy people who keep doing the same thing after it’s clear that what they think is either not true or that it doesn’t work.
I hate the whole ‘flip flop’ label and the power it has in political discourse. What matters is (1) the changed position; (2) whether it represents a fundamental change in some core belief; and (3) the reason why the politician changed it. But instead of asking why the politician who said ‘A’ is now saying ‘A + B’ or is now saying, ‘Not A, C,’ people just dance around jeering, ‘Flip-flop! Flip-flop!’
There’s a difference between (1) elaborating or modifying your position to take account of new data, (2) because your core beliefs have changed, or (3) because you’re pandering to some hypothetical set of voters.
Before jeering at Barack Obama even about FISA (which I see as a true reversal, whereas his position on Iraq is not), be sure to check out these links about John McCain here and here. McCain’s hasn’t modified his positions; he’s changed his whole posture. And he didn’t do it based on new data or because his previous position was misunderstood. A number of his core beliefs have apparently changed or else he’s not being truthful about them.
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