One Person's Flip Is Another's Flop

A Candidate's Changing Position Is A Sign Of Opportunism — No, Leadership!

(CBS)  flip-flop (ˈflip-fläp) n, a sudden reversal (as of policy or strategy)

This past week both presidential candidates made remarkable reversals of long-held positions, opening themselves up to accusations of flip-flopping by the opposing campaigns.

But is changing one's position wisdom or opportunism? Practicality or pandering? It all depends on whom you ask.

This week, Sen. Barack Obama reversed his position on public financing, having previously said he would abide by limitations placed on funds raised and spent in the general election as part of his desire to reduce the influence of money from special interests in politics.

That changed with Thursday's announcement in which he said, "The public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system."

By opting-out, he is now free to continue raising money from supporters who have already donated a record sum - nearly $300 million to date.

Actually, according to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama's new stand on public financing demonstrates not an act of opportunism but his ideals as a reformer.

"What Barack Obama has done is in the spirit of reform of the public financing system," Richardson told a disbelieving host Bob Schieffer.

Richardson pointed to statistics of Obama's fundraising prowess: 1.5 million contributors who have given an average of $88 each, not exactly high rollers. "Here we have somebody that takes no money from registered lobbyists, from PACs," Richardson said. "That's reform.

"But look at what Senator McCain has done: He started out with public financing in the primary, then he flip-flopped. Now he's back for public financing. He's had since February nearly five months with a private finance system. I'd say that he is the flip-flopper.

"Senator McCain is still taking that money; he's still taking lobbyists' money; he's taking PAC money," Richardson said. "That's not reform."

According to McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, however, Obama's change is to continue to make financial hay from his supporters. "Barack Obama has in fact said all along that he would accept public financing," she said. "And now he's changed his mind.

"What I find a little disingenuous, I must say, is to blame that on the fact that, for example, there are 527s gearing up to attack him."

Obama has said that money raised would help pay for fending off attacks by 527s - privately-financed organizations who work parallel with a candidate but are not restricted in fundraising - which spread anti-Obama messages.

"So I think the point is he raised a lot of money and he wants the opportunity to spend all that money," Fiorina said. "That's his right, but it clearly is a change in his position."

So when a politician changes a long-held position on a hot-button issue for which there are no practical reasons to switch - say, on expanding oil drilling in environmentally-sensitive areas - then the politician is guilty of political opportunism or pandering, no?

Well, no, according to Fiorina, at least when the candidate is John McCain, a longtime opponent of offshore drilling - who this week came out in support of opening up additional tracts of gas reserves off America's coastline.

When asked by Schieffer if that wasn't a flip-flop, too, she said McCain's change of policy - which has sparked outrage from coastal states over the potential threats to tourism and the environment - is actually a sign of leadership.

"Well, you know, I think a good leader is influenced by the facts on the ground, whether those facts are in Iraq or whether those facts are right here in the United States," she said. "And the reality is we have never before faced a situation where a gallon of gas is over $4 and is likely to remain over $4. We've never before faced a situation where the price of a barrel of oil has doubled in the last 12 months.

"So what John McCain has said is that we now need to take control of our own energy future. And that involves, among other things, tapping our own resources."

Fiorina said McCain's support for expanding offshore drilling, and consequently falling in line with President Bush, is "a matter of economic security, national security, and environmental security."

To which the former energy secretary said, the answer for securing the nation's energy future "is not drill, drill.

"I can tell you that every bipartisan administration has opposed offshore drilling for pristine reasons, the ecosystem," Richardson said, "but also the fact that you're not going to get any of this oil out offshore for the next 10 years, and prices won't go down until the year 2030, according to the Energy Information Agency.

"Senator McCain is basically following the policies of George Bush. We need to shift away from this drill, drill, drill philosophy into new sources of energy, conservation, fuel efficiency, dramatic efforts to develop new sources of energy, natural gas, maybe even look at nuclear, find ways that we can have carbon-clean coal technology, but not just drill into pristine areas like ANWR in Alaska, like offshore in California and Texas. Ask the people in those states if they're for that - they're not."

So for those keeping track at home, the tally of flip-flops this week: Obama 1, McCain 0 - or, Obama 0, McCain 1, depending on who's keeping score.

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Read the full "Face the Nation" transcript here.

[decondo]

The MOST important issue(s) on campaign reform is/are the nature of the contributors (PACs, Lobbyists, individual contributors, etc.) and the extent of each contribution (ave. amount per contribution).
I don''t understand why Bob Shieffer came unglued over the Obama switch away from public campaign finance. Never saw him do that before. Not sure that particular item even rates a comment, let alone a "spitting fit". Is there nothing else Obama has done more worthy of note? Calm down Bob.

[omaar-101]

Networks Put The Iraq War and Over 1 Million Iraqi Citizens & Over 4,090 Honr. Us Military Deaths on Back Burner, with Only 2 Mins. Per Week, TV Coverage !!


Reporters: News Trust New York Times/Obsidian Wings

June 22, 2008 09:33 PM

Note: 4,090 USA Troops Killed & Dis-Membered, Thousands of US Military Suicides & Attempted Suicides, as well as Thousands of Military Men & Women, Injured by Self Inflicted Wounds and this is being Covered by your Major TV Networks for Only 2 Minutes...

We should All Be Outraged !!!
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The New York Times has a piece today on the dwindling amount of time US news networks are spending on Iraq and Afghanistan:

3 Network evening Newscasts, coverage of Iraq has been "Massively Scaled Back this year.

" Almost halfway into 2008, the three newscasts have shown 181 weekday minutes of Iraq coverage, compared with 1,157 minutes for all of 2007. The "CBS Evening News" has devoted the fewest minutes to Iraq, 51, versus 55 minutes on ABC''''s "World News" and 74 minutes on "NBC Nightly News." (The average evening newscast is 22 minutes long.)



Americans are getting about "two minutes of Iraq coverage, per network, per week."

And we ought to care.

We are responsible for the present state of Iraq, and we ought to care what happens there. Besides, we have men and women risking their lives in Iraq. We owe both Iraqis and our troops more than 181 weekday minutes, for all three networks.

[frootloop47]

It''s funny (and sad) that the right-wing/neo-con/Republican bloggers always seems to resort to name calling. Why is that, I wonder.

Someone posted Obama will raise taxes. Yes, on the wealthiest, top 1% of Americans.

Someone posted Obama is a twit. I hope you''re wrong because with any luck that "twit" is going to be our President.

[maggieausa-2009]

Bob Schieffer described McCain''s turn around on oil drillling as a "change of mind" and Obama''s turn around on public finance a "flip flop". As we all know the latter phrase was used by Republicans to cause distrust of John Kerry, among others. It is now emotionally loaded. I was shocked to hear Schieffer, an otherwise objective moderator, use this term.

[docpeter-2009]

From the story, "According to McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, however, Obama''s change is to continue to make financial hay from his supporters. "Barack Obama has in fact said all along that he would accept public financing," she said. "And now he''s changed his mind.

"What I find a little disingenuous, I must say, is to blame that on the fact that, for example, there are 527s gearing up to attack him."

This from the woman (ex-ceo) who was paid $22M to leave Hewlett Packard (HP). Promised not to kiss and tell and then wrote a book because she thought she was wronged by HP. I guess she felt she deserved more $$.

[reunionpi]

Frank Fiorina, husband of top McCain Advisor Carly Fiorina, still will not provide his occupation on his $28,500 campaign donation to the NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE as required by law

www.webofdeception.com

[rowdywicca]

Obama wants to focus on OUR problems, and McCain doesn''''''''t.


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Posted by hungry1968 at 08:10 AM : Jun 23, 2008

Obama is a twit, and barely know what the real issues are! Plus he creates his own issues just so he lambast something! We don''t need Obama''s problems in our White House.

[rowdywicca]

What do you think that perpetual, never ending war, is going to do to the tax base?

We''''ve already lost 8 years of money being poured into a bottomless pit, while ALL of our domestic problems were ignored.

Obama wants to focus on OUR problems, and McCain doesn''''t.


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Posted by hungry1968 at 08:10 AM : Jun 23, 2008

The UN mandate may run out in January and the Iraqi''s may not extend it. And even if they don''t McCain will get us out of Iraq just as fast as any other candidate can. He''s just not going to make stupid promises he may not be able to keep.

[jack3213]

A vote for Obama is a vote for higher taxes in an economy that can''t afford it. Wake up. His plans are all wrong- and people are just so stupid & blind- SO many walk around thinking they will get a change in government- with a Democrat- you will get NOTHING, and I feel sorry for those who are just plain dumb.

[kmccliment]

* McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions.


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Posted by shingles1


you have your facts wrong.

[bec67]

"Chameleon" best describes Obama. "CHANGE" he''s got that right, he will CHANGE into anything the political climate dictates.

[jerr11]

WHY HILLARY SUPPORTERS MUST WRITE HER IN ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT:


Posted by TruUSA at 02:47 AM : Jun 23, 2008




Hey lars aka blackshaft, aka a negroe man, aka Israeli ******.

Didn''t know you''re a fan of Hillary!

And how''s your rowdy ****** today?

LOL

[rowdywicca]

Posted by shingles1 at 12:45 AM : Jun 23, 2008

Strange isn''t it. Obama has flip flopped on every one of those issues also. And more! He just flip flopped on telecoms today!

And you didn''t even mention hand gun control! Nor his support for oil companies.

My, my, my.

[shingles1]

...and there''s twenty more examples of McCain''s flip flopping - but I think I''ve made my point.

[shingles1]

McFlop:
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a %u201C%u2018read my lips%u2019 candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?%u201D referring to George H.W. Bush%u2019s 1988 pledge. %u201CNo new taxes,%u201D McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, %u201CI%u2019m not making a %u2018read my lips%u2019 statement, in that I will not raise taxes.%u201D
* McCain is both for and against a %u201Crogue state rollback%u201D as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
* In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won%u2019t commit to supporting a regulation bill he%u2019s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris%u2019 former lobbyist as his senior
* McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions.

[shingles1]

Rowdy hates flip floppers, unless they''re named McCain.

McFlip:
* McCain supported the drilling moratorium; now he%u2019s against it.
* McCain strongly opposes a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
* McCain thought Bush%u2019s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
* McCain defended %u201Cprivatizing%u201D Social Security. Now he says he%u2019s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
* McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn%u2019t.
* McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
* He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it %u201Cone of the worst decisions in the history of this country.%u201D
* McCain said he would %u201Cnot impose a litmus test on any nominee.%u201D He used to promise the opposite.
* McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration%u2019s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
* McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported moving %u201Ctowards normalization of relations%u201D with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.

[rowdywicca]

have. They are brilliant. Fantastic, straigthforward writing. His insight is unrivaled. His humility and his progress toward understanding himself, his mixed-race heritage and how both fit into the American life are unmatched. What ours blindly see as negatives I see as working the metal into steel. As barriers in his struggles that he overcame. His books are honest, raw and heart touching. Barack Obama is the future face of America, brown, mixed, from a dozen or more nationalities and coming out of a long struggle and into the light. I applaud him and look forward to the future of America under the guidance of him and those that will follow. They are our hope for a new America that is really a return to, a fulfilment of the ideals our forefathers expressed more the 230 years ago. Barack is the embodiment of the melting pot that can make America great again.

You, on the other hand, are a hack.


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Posted by SgtRDS-E4 at 11:35 PM : Jun 22,

Too bad he''''s a racist, separatist, Marxist!


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And a flip flopping liar on top of it!

[rowdywicca]

have. They are brilliant. Fantastic, straigthforward writing. His insight is unrivaled. His humility and his progress toward understanding himself, his mixed-race heritage and how both fit into the American life are unmatched. What ours blindly see as negatives I see as working the metal into steel. As barriers in his struggles that he overcame. His books are honest, raw and heart touching. Barack Obama is the future face of America, brown, mixed, from a dozen or more nationalities and coming out of a long struggle and into the light. I applaud him and look forward to the future of America under the guidance of him and those that will follow. They are our hope for a new America that is really a return to, a fulfilment of the ideals our forefathers expressed more the 230 years ago. Barack is the embodiment of the melting pot that can make America great again.

You, on the other hand, are a hack.


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Posted by SgtRDS-E4 at 11:35 PM : Jun 22,

Too bad he''s a racist, separatist, Marxist!

[sgtrds-e4]

**READ THE BOOKS!***

Posted by TruUSA at 11:31 PM : Jun 22, 2008

I have. They are brilliant. Fantastic, straigthforward writing. His insight is unrivaled. His humility and his progress toward understanding himself, his mixed-race heritage and how both fit into the American life are unmatched. What ours blindly see as negatives I see as working the metal into steel. As barriers in his struggles that he overcame. His books are honest, raw and heart touching. Barack Obama is the future face of America, brown, mixed, from a dozen or more nationalities and coming out of a long struggle and into the light. I applaud him and look forward to the future of America under the guidance of him and those that will follow. They are our hope for a new America that is really a return to, a fulfilment of the ideals our forefathers expressed more the 230 years ago. Barack is the embodiment of the melting pot that can make America great again.

You, on the other hand, are a hack.

[rowdywicca]

I''m out too! Time to go read some more good fiction like the Obama shill game! It''s called ''One Good Man'' LMAO!

Good night!

NO OBAMA ''08!