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Flip-Flops Are Footwear, Not Fiascos

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By Kris DiGiovanni

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 19, 2008

If there is one term I am sick to death of already this political season, it is "flip-flop." In the era of "gotcha" politics, changing your mind has become synonymous with incompetence and is the worst "sin" a candidate could commit. Just like a second-grader insisting a classmate has "cooties," one side is always accusing the other of "flip-flopping on the issues."

So what's up with all the outrage over candidates who modify their positions? Are we supposed to believe the ideal candidate is one who is steadfast and unchanging despite new evidence or information? Are we supposed to agree that it's best to stick with a chosen viewpoint or course of action, no matter what the consequences?

Personally, I want to vote for someone who weighs all the information before making a decision. I want an individual who is willing to re-evaluate his decision in light of new information and who is not afraid to change his mind.

But attack ads say that every time a politician changes their position, they are motivated by political expediency, not because new information changed their mind.

Campaigning in 2000, President Bush told us he was against nation-building and military interventions. But in his radio address March 22, 2003, he told us he invaded Iraq "to free the Iraqi people." In his 2004 acceptance speech, he vowed to create jobs "by restraining federal spending," but four years later, unemployment is up and the national debt is larger than ever. Bush also promised in that speech to increase "funding for community colleges," "fund early intervention programs to help students at risk" and expand "Pell grants for low and middle-income families." But last November, he vetoed a bill to increase funding for education, including Pell Grants, and in July, because No Child Left Behind was not working, several states received permission to change the program.

Bush is just the most recent example of presidential flip-flopping. Woodrow Wilson vowed he'd keep us out of war in both his 1912 and 1916 campaigns. Lyndon Johnson promised he'd never send U.S. soldiers to Vietnam. Ronald Reagan told us the Soviet Union could not be trusted, then negotiated a nuclear disarmament treaty with them. The list goes on.

Political campaigning is not truth, it's spin and propaganda. It's about marketing a candidate. Once Americans are "sold" and the votes are in, promises take a back set to real-world choices. The nation's and the world's agendas don't wait for presidents to address pre-selected priorities. Making policy U-turns often becomes the order of the day.

So the question remains; if you can't believe campaign promises, how do you choose the best candidate?

One way is to ignore the name calling and labels - like flip-flopper. Get busy reading, watching and listening to each candidate's positions - long held or recently revised. Then make your own informed decision.

Kris DiGiovanni teaches in Pasco County, her second career after 15 years in Information Services.

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