Word: flips
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, "people act in their own interest." It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect. The flip side of being an optimist - and he is one - is trusting people too much. But Mandela recognized that the way to deal with those he didn't trust was to neutralize them with charm...
...McCain, meanwhile, has hit on his campaign theme: "country first." The idea is that he puts the national interest above his personal ambitions, unlike certain Democratic presidential nominees. An attack on Obama's convenient flip-flops is an important part of that story. A Republican spokesman says, "There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience...
...obvious risk of McCain's gambit is that it will remind people of his own flip-flops. He used to oppose extending the Bush tax cuts, but now favors it. He used to oppose offshore drilling, but changed his mind. His list of reversals, like Obama's, goes...
...Obama knows which charge he fears more. His moves suggest that he would rather be called a flip-flopper than a leftist. His repositioning does not truly risk costing him the support of liberals. They have been enthusiastic about ending Republican rule in Washington for years, before most of them knew Obama's name. Bush and McCain will keep them motivated even if Obama does...
...Toward that end, Obama can get away with flip-flops as long as they don't make him look weak or indecisive, and as long as he doesn't say anything as ripe for mockery as Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it." Perhaps Obama is being cynical. But he may also have a shrewder grasp of the public mood than McCain...