The Smooth One

IBD Editorials ^ | August 4, 2008

[Kaslin]

Politics: Where does Obama stand on the issues? Everywhere and nowhere, it seems. His shift on drilling shows flexibility, but it leaves his convictions a mystery.

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All politicians change positions now and then, and that's not always a bad thing. Refusing to submit one's views to reality checks is not leadership. It's just stubbornness.

Then again, a real leader doesn't take such change lightly. Voters are right to be suspicious of flip-flops that seem motivated by no reason other than the polls.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain have changed their stands on offshore oil drilling recently, and clearly they were moving with the tide of public opinion. But McCain also cited a hard fact — $4-a-gallon gasoline — to explain why his old stand against expanded offshore drilling no longer made sense.

Obama took another tack. He said he saw a need to compromise in the quest for a "comprehensive" energy policy. "I don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done," he explained.

That makes Obama sound like a reasonable man and a practical politician, but it leaves open the question of what he really thinks about offshore drilling. The answer here is crucial because a president has broad executive power to put his convictions into practice. And with a Congress controlled by his own party, he might not even have to compromise.

[PhiKapMom]

IBD is on a roll! The one with the Carter sweater is hilarious!

Love their editorials! Thanks for posting them!

[ChocChipCookie]

What I’d like to know is how Obama can shift his position anywhere and everywhere on numerous topics, but he stands rock solid against the surge, which obviously worked.

[Kaslin]

You’re welcome. They are the best

[maine-iac7]

Obama is now throwing out every and any scheme his puppet masters can think of to solve our energy crisis = besides the inane “inflate your tires = it could save as much as all the oil that would be drilled” = then he says he'll take all the profits of the oil companies and give it out to everyone - $500 and $1,000... (Buying voters) and then says he could support of shore drilling/
Questions: How can he take the profits of the oil companies without Socializing/taking over the oil companies, ala Marxism.

and - If he takes their profits, where are they going to get the money to develop new off shore drilling.

[Rodm]

Got my tires up to 150 PSI, I don’t even need gas to run my car anymore. Thanks Obama!

[NDpapajoe]

Got my obamas up to 73 psi. one little bulge so far, might try bumping it up to 75 tomorrow.

we have a planet to save, people!!

[highlander_UW]

What I’d like to know is how Obama can shift his position anywhere and everywhere on numerous topics, but he stands rock solid against the surge, which obviously worked.

It's a product of his "exceptional" judgment. /s

[The_Media_never_lie]

ot my obamas up to 73 psi. one little bulge so far, might try bumping it up to 75 tomorrow.

Just go in for a tune up and you you have done everything he asked. Give O a chance!

[Beckwith]

Where does Obama stand on the issues reparations?

[maica]

From the article, an excellent list for use with friends caught up in the politics of "hope:"

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After all, he's the candidate of the future, not the past; of "hope," not experience. Track records are a "distraction," to use one of Obama's favorite words.

If you buy Obama's in-the-moment brand of politics, it doesn't really matter if he once opposed offshore oil drilling but now supports it when it's more popular.

Or that he switched to Bush's side on protecting phone companies from liability for domestic wiretapping.

Or that he talks protectionism, with a wink and nod to trading partners that he's not really serious.

Or that he broke a promise to accept public campaign funding and its limits, once he found that he didn't need the money.

What he asks is that you look past all these inconsistencies and trust that he will do the right thing once elected, whatever the right thing happens to be at that time.

Obama is nothing if not smooth in following the polls and tailoring his message to a precise time, place and audience. It's hard to run on the issues against someone like that. Catch him in an unpopular position and he'll just change it.

But if he carries this flexibility too far, the American people may decide they don't really know Obama and don't want to entrust their government to him.