Intangibles, Or Why Some Flip-Flops Matter More Than Others

Richard Cohen of the WaPo articulates the obvious about the flips-flops of McCain and Obama and the relative seriousness thereof:

But here is the difference between McCain and Obama -- and Obama had better pay attention. McCain is a known commodity. It's not just that he's been around a long time and staked out positions antithetical to those of his Republican base. It's also -- and more important -- that we know his bottom line. As his North Vietnamese captors found out, there is only so far he will go, and then his pride or his sense of honor takes over. This -- not just his candor and nonstop verbosity on the Straight Talk Express -- is what commends him to so many journalists.

Obama might have a similar bottom line, core principles for which, in some sense, he is willing to die. If so, we don't know what they are. Nothing so far in his life approaches McCain's decision to refuse repatriation as a POW so as to deny his jailors a propaganda coup. In fact, there is scant evidence the Illinois senator takes positions that challenge his base or otherwise threaten him politically. That's why his reversal on campaign financing and his transparently false justification of it matter more than similar acts by McCain.

Well, sure.  It's also part of the reason that Obama's association with Jeremiah Wright was of much greater consequence than McCain's endorsement by Hagee (the length and depth of the Obama-Wright association was also important).  It's why Obama's long-time association with unrepentant Weatherman Bill Ayers, which dates back to at least to 1987 when Ayers and Obama first joined forces on Chicago public school reform, is important - we are still getting to know Obama, who is now strolling back to the political center.  And as I noted recently, we can't judge him by his speeches since he has back-pedaled from so many.  And we can't judge him by his anorexic resume.

Oh, well - let's elect him and let historians sort it out.  There's a plan!

Comments

[Korla Pundit]

Is there any legislation that anti-drilling nuts can cite that would have an "immediate" benefit on anything? That's a stupid strawman argument.

All the more reason to drill now, you dolts. You should have started drilling a decade ago. And shale? That should be a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, no-brains is a political norm. For both parties. But mostly for fake envinronmentalist Dems who would be OK with foreigners drilling off our shores. Just not us.

Once again, their whole philosophy is based on the US being evil and commies and tyrants being incapable of doing any wrong.

Drill! But first, Mr. Democrat, please put your ear to the ground right there and listen very closely. Help us find just the right spot.

[AST]

It seems to take about six years for an idea to penetrate the public's mind. Nobody ever wins the majority of eligible voters, just those who choose to vote. I'd hate to think how far wrong we'd have gone if everybody who can vote did vote.

There is seldom any logical analysis of positions, just a catching of key words and phrases, like "dumb" and "liar" tied to George Bush in comic monologues, "flip flopper" to John Kerry. So far Obama has been christened the new messiah and McCain the old one, and until the monologues turn on him, I doubt that Obama can say or do much to ruin his chances. McCain's biggest hope is that feminists, offended by the rejection of Hillary Clinton, will sit this one out and that conservatives, offended by McCain's penchant for joining Democrats for critical votes, will not.

[Neo]

Let the yawning begin.

Scott McClellan - the longtime supporter of President Bush who served as his White House press secretary for nearly three years - said Tuesday he hasn't ruled out registering as a Democrat or voting Democratic for president this year.

"I haven't made any long-term decisions," McClellan said after an address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, where he received a warm reception from an audience numbering in the hundreds at the Fairmont Hotel.

Has this clown been definitive about anything ?
Even the supposedly sensational statements seem to come with caveats.

[JM Hanes]

Neo:

McClellan gets a warm reception in San Francisco -- what a shocker! More profitable than taking heat in Congress I suppose.

If only his sophomoric jokes were as accidentally amusing as his considered advice to Obama and McCain: Pick a weak Vice President. That seems unfairly burdensome to Obama who is also expected to pick a Veep with foreign policy "heft" before ignoring him, while McCain is only tasked with signing up a cheerleader.

As for staving off his inevitable slide into obscurity, when even his book tour has no place left to go, a blogger over at The Hill suggests that "Maybe McClellan’s actually working on a second book about how he was deceived by his publisher on this one."

[GMax]

Scotty ventures into Bluest San Fran and gets out to an audience he wants to sell books to, that he MIGHT, change his registration! And the progs ate it up! So is the gullibility of the progs or the fact that McClellan like his Mom knows not even how to spell Loyalty but never passes up an opportunity to enrich himself, the real story here. Seems like it could be covered both ways with some pride.

Scotty will now be invited on to lots of CNN and MSNBC panels, where he will replace David Gergen as the Republican on the 4 person panel ( the other three plus the "moderator" being hard core lefty progs!).

[kim]

JMH, I had the same idea myself. It is the only way McClellan can ever regain his reputation, and it might just occur to him.
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[Thomas Jackson]

Hmmm given the number of people the Dalibama has thrown under the bus I'd say the principle he would die for is his right to throw people under the bus once they are no longer useful to him.

Yes we can!

[kim]

Yes, we can them and then crush them.
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