Posted
with the Permission of David Limbaugh
Ironically, the person who has benefited most from John Kerry's reputation for
flip-flopping is John Kerry himself, because he's not so much a flip-flopper as
a fundamentally dishonest person, which his reputation for flip-flopping tends
to conceal.
Of course Democrats and the partisan media prefer
to euphemize Kerry's frenetic policy changes, citing them as evidence of his mental
acuity. He's not a flipper, but a genius. But if they really believed his flips
were something to celebrate, they wouldn't have made such a colossal deal of his
recent Iraq speech in New York.
Kerry made major news that
day simply for stating his position on Iraq less equivocally than he's been willing
to do in the past. All of his supporters expressed a collective sigh of relief
that he'd finally arrived at a position that would substantively distinguish him
from President Bush on Iraq. The partisan media looked on wistfully as John Kerry
finally said, "No, I wouldn't have gone to Iraq… America is not safer than it
was before Saddam's removal. Bush is a lying scumbag … blah, blah, blah."
Nevertheless,
liberals continue the charade that Kerry's customary refusal to stick with a position
is a positive. Not long ago, a liberal elitist columnist spent his entire 750
words laboring to recast Kerry's embarrassing self-contradictions as the product
of an enlightened thinker poised for leadership. Another suggested that Kerry's
180s show admirable flexibility in a man who is willing to examine new evidence
and adapt to changing circumstances. Others have said that Kerry's flops flow
from his sophistication, complexity and ability to appreciate "nuance."
Comedy
Central's Jon Stewart told Katie Couric that efforts to paint Kerry as a flip-flopper
are "silly" and "not really the case." I agree with Stewart that these efforts
to paint Kerry as a flip-flopper are silly, though not in the sense he surely
means it, but rather in that they trivialize a deeper flaw in Kerry. That is,
when Republicans characterize Kerry as a flip-flopper, they leave the impression
that he's merely wishy-washy, irresolute and indecisive.
While
he certainly changes his positions almost as often as he takes a stance, I don't
think his flips are a result of changes of heart, but the cold political calculations
of a dangerously opportunistic customer. (If he truly changed his mind as often
as he changes his positions, we'd have conclusive evidence of his mental instability.)
Kerry knows exactly what he believes, but often can't afford to be honest about
it. But it is his real beliefs more than his vintage vacillations that scare me
the most.
There's a big difference between changing your mind
to accommodate changed circumstances and reconsidering a position due to a change
in the direction of the political winds. I don't have the space or patience to
rehash all of Kerry's changed policies on Iraq, culminating in his confession
to David Letterman that if he were president, we would not be in Iraq. But I am
confident that none of his flips were a result of thoughtfulness, or even of indecisiveness,
but raw political expedience.
I have no idea if John Kerry
truly ponders issues carefully and deliberately, Perhaps he does in contemplating
his next checkers move. But frankly, on policy decisions, it's hard to envision
him weighing anything other than their potential impact on his political fortunes,
because at his core, John Kerry is plainly a narcissist.
All
indications are that John Kerry is not a deliberative, thoughtful guy. Do you
remember his reaction to the publication of the 9/11 Commission report? He was
so anxious to use that report as a weapon against President Bush that he advocated
adopting all of its recommendations before he'd even had time to read it -- heck,
before Evelyn Wood would have had time to speed read it.
I
was struck by the sheer irresponsibility of Kerry's precipitous pronouncement
on the report. No serious person could claim that his headlong "lurch" to embrace
the commission's recommendations was born of nuance, complexity, thoughtfulness,
deliberation, flexibility or leadership. It was abject, reckless political posturing.
And
when President Bush refused to uncritically and immediately ratify every syllable
in the report, he was hardly hailed by the phony nuance idolaters for his thoughtfulness.
Indeed enormous political pressure was brought to bear on Bush to throw all caution
and leadership to the wind, and he stood his ground.
The partisan
media aren't interested in thoughtfulness or nuance, but in portraying John Kerry
in the most favorable light. Given the nature of the man, they have their work
cut out for them.
All
pages copyright David Limbaugh 1994-2004
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