Jonathan Chait may be America’s finest political writer. Here, he notices that Obama’s being cast as a flip-flopper- just like, oh, every Democrat who’s ever run for president, ever:
The details of the Republican character narrative vary a bit from campaign to campaign. (In 1992, 1996, and 2008, Republicans waxed rhapsodic about the moral virtues inherent in military service; in 2000 and 2004, they played them down.) The alleged flip-floppiness of the Democratic nominee, though, is a hardy perennial. Flip-flopping is a simple accusation that campaign reporters can sink their teeth into. Moreover, there’s always grist for the accusation, because getting to the position of running for president without changing your stance on a few issues is essentially impossible.
It would be quite hilarious if the GOP continued to run with the flip-flop thing while running, say, a McCain-Romney ticket.
Stephen Silver, Writer 