Friday, July 04, 2008

Why Flip-Flopping Politicians Are Great

The term "flip-flop" is a political black mark, but one that is probably said (truthfully) about every single politician, at some point in their career. Still, we act surprised and hurt when one of our representatives changes their mind. Do you know what we get when our politicians don't flip-flop? We get people in power like George Walker Bush, our current Commander in Stubborness.

As a nation (or as a world) we need to learn to embrace the flip-flop. This is the great ability human beings, including politicians, need to have. This is the ability to change your mind. Be it because the facts changed, the information you had at hand changed, or because political pressure demands it. Now, I emphasized that last part. Why? Because flip-flopping for political reasons is the best reason to do it! As our representative, these politicians are supposed to stand for what their constituents want them to support. Swaying for political pressure is a sign that the politician knows their place in the machine: our voice. They aren't supposed to have hard-wired positions they won't back down on.

Embrace the candidate who changes their mind for the most votes, because that is the voter-pleaser. Bush doesn't care about pleasing the voters, and that fact is his biggest mistake. The lack of being able to change his mind when the people do is what continues to distance him from even those who put him where he is today.