It is a testament to the considerable ingenuity of George Bush's handlers that the phrase most often repeated during this campaign has not been "soaring deficit" or "civilian body count" but "flip-flop." Realizing that Bush's policies have been nothing short of disastrous at home and abroad, Republicans have skillfully centered their campaign around attempts to paint Kerry as an indecisive leader unfit to deal with the numerous crises facing the nation.
And, in fairness, although Republicans have distorted almost every instance of alleged "flip-flopping," Kerry has changed his mind on numerous issues, most notably the war in Iraq. But what's wrong with that? That Kerry shifted his position on the Iraq war in light of the fact that the Bush administration had misled him, along with the rest of the world, is reason for commendation, not condemnation.
One of the fundamental characteristics of a reasonable being is the ability to formulate opinions not on blind assumption but on the evaluation of all available evidence. As one's information changes, so do one's opinions, and so in our everyday lives we expect people to admit when they're wrong and adjust their actions accordingly. It's called admitting mistakes, and it's the most basic way in which we keep from erring more gravely in the future. It's something all humans do?all humans, it seems, except George W. Bush.
For one thing, Bush seems to make an effort to remain ignorant about world affairs and opinions. Whereas Kerry reads everything from The Wall Street Journal to Le Monde, Bush brags about not reading the newspaper. While Kerry routinely drills his aides for hours in an effort to remain as well-informed as possible, Bush famously refuses to read all but the shortest memos.
Even if Bush did care to keep himself as well informed as a President should be, however, it is doubtful he would act any differently. On everything from tax cuts to health care, he has the deception and bullheadedness to admitting his mistakes and attempting to adjust his policies to best serve the American people.
Recently, Bush has brashly claimed that even if he had known what he knows now about Iraq?that no link exists between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda and that there were no weapons of mass destruction?he would do the exact same thing that he did, despite the thousand-plus lives the invasion has cost and the innumerable dangers it has created.
It is true that Saddam deserves, as Kerry has said, his own special place in hell, but the desire to rid the world of an evil dictator is not now, and has never been, an acceptable condition for invading a sovereign nation. Bush's assertion that he would not alter his actions sets a dangerous precedent for the future foreign policy of not only the United States but all nations that look at us to set an example abroad.
According to this new formulation of the "Bush Doctrine," it would seem as though we are justified in blindly invading countries like Iran and North Korea, both of which are hostile nations that Bush has deemed enemies of "freedom" that actually do possess WMD. Bush's refusal to admit his mistake in invading Iraq also opens the way for other nations to start their own preemptive wars against leaders they happen to consider adverse to their particular value system.
If anything, then, the fact that John Kerry has shown the willingness to shift his opinion makes him far more qualified to lead this country than George W. Bush. As members of the Bush administration have said, our country now faces an unquantifiable number of unknowns and "unknown unknowns." This is precisely the type of world that requires a person with the capacity to reevaluate our course of action in order to ensure we continue to do what is right for ourselves and for the world.
Bush, on the other hand, has repeatedly proven himself to be so set in his overly simplistic, dichotomous "good vs. evil" worldview that he seems incapable of handling the increasingly complicated challenges we all face. Our world is composed not of blacks and whites but muddled shades of gray. Of the two candidates, only John Kerry has shown himself to be able to comprehend this crucial fact and to deal with its consequences.