A rather active week with topics that kept the pundits hoppin’ and buzzin’ and spinnin’, but which were not necessarily things that would change voters minds, or were really of any interest to the average voter. Public financing! Off shore drilling! FISA negotiations! You really gotta love watching the game unfold to have been into those topics I tell ya. Most likely the biggest real splash of the week with the masses was Michelle Obama appearing on The View and insisting on fist bumps from all the ladies 🙂 Nice way to respond to a particularly pathetic ‘reporter’.
I think the next big thing that will get voter’s attention will be VP picks. I have truly NO CLUE where either one should go on that one. I can oddly argue for and against several. The candidates have a tough job on that one for sure.
Both camps have thrown around the flip flop accusation. Obama got it because he chose to opt out of public financing for the general election and McCain got it for changing his stance on offshore drilling. I wonder though, is flip flopping such a bad thing? I know that the GOP successfully made it a negative trait in 2004 over John Kerry changing his mind flip flopping about the need to go to war. I have to say, that it is not something that matters to me so much. In fact, after 8 years of ‘resolute’ leadership, I have absolutely NO issue with flip flopping!! I’ve seen the other side at it’s worst and it scares me 🙂 Let’s be realistic here – in real life, we do change. We learn new information or more in depth information on a topic. Or we experience something more personally in our lives that we had not before which changes our outlook on a topic. Or, in the case of politicans, new public opinion polls are released 🙂 Seriously, I would rather have a president who is *curious* about new information. One who doesn’t start with a conclusion and then ask his advisors to come up with data/propoganda to support it. Changing your mind is FINE. To me, flip flopping is doing it more than once on the same topic. This week you think one way, then next week another and then back again. Neither of these candidates has done that so my reaction to both position changes was “eh”. I have the feeling that the majority of voters didn’t care much either.
IOW – you can flip, but please don’t flop 😉
Trees & Flowers & Birds! 
Yeah, I agree, leaders need to re-evalutate issues constantly.
Not being a flip flopper could mean “stubborn,” not a great trait.
I guess it all depends on how things are presented. Flip flop has the connotation of indecisiveness.
Who controls the information is important. The media has a lot of power over attitudes and had a lot to do with who won the last two elections.
It’s refreshing to see people like you thinking for yourself.
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This resident of Florida has a serious problem with flip-flopping. Once upon a time, Gov. Charlie Crist flatly opposed off-shore drilling here. Last week, he changed his mind and began supporting off-shore drilling because of the current gas crisis.
Sorry, Charlie, you’re not marring my coastline, endangering my birds’ habitats, or my Gulf’s delicate ecosystem without a BIG fight, you bastard.
Well, now I didn’t give you my particular opinion on either of the topics on purpose because that was not my point…and yes, often in politics the flipping is due to political strategy vs what they really believe and that stinks…FWIW, having seen the blight on the horizon that is the oil rigs in Huntington Beach, I completely agree with you!!
-tpgoddess
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I agree with you that politicians should be afforded the opportunity to change their minds where they are doing it for the good of the nation, or their state or the locality of the people that voted them into office. I have a big problem with changing their minds on issues for the good of their campaign, notwithstanding the nation, or their state or the locality of the people that voted them into office.
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