[KC_Conspirator]

My late father used to tell me that one of the hallmarks of good character is the courage to admit mistakes. Most people who lock themselves into a public position want to keep defending their original stance, even when in their heart they know subsequent events have proven them incorrect.

Consistantcy is the hobgoblin of little minds. (Either Franklin, Thoreau or Emerson - can't remember which).

I have heard this same sentiment from alot of democrats.

[185JHP]

The actual quote uses the term "A *foolish* consistency..." Consistency is a good thing when you have the requisite analytical skills, access to information, courage, and character to tell the truth, knowing that it won't please the sophists. Thomas Sowell and Mark Helprin come to mind. As Kipling observed you sometimes have to endure "seeing the truth you've told twisted to make a snare for fools..."

[Old Professer]

Emerson

[Bernard Marx]

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do." --Ralph Waldo Emerson _Essays_ (1841) "Self Reliance"

A questionable premise, IMHO, but it was definitely Emerson. Consistency is only a problem if you're wrong to begin with.

[Bernard Marx]

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do." --Ralph Waldo Emerson _Essays_ (1841) "Self Reliance"

A questionable premise, IMHO, but it was definitely Emerson. Consistency is only a problem if you're wrong to begin with.

[Excuse_Me]

Consistantcy is the hobgoblin of little minds. (Either Franklin, Thoreau or Emerson - can't remember which).

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson--1841

The word "foolish" is often left out, but without it, the entire meaning is changed.

[ArneFufkin]

KC, the United States has been unusually blessed (excepting Wilson and LBJ) to somehow place the right individual in the Oval Office at crucial times in our history. Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan and now W. In times of peace and prosperity, we can afford jackasses and lesser lights like John Quincy Adams, Van Buren, Pierce, Grant, Cleveland, Taft, Harding, Ford, Carter, Clinton and the rest. The character and leadership of the individual holding the Executive Office is largely irrelevant in those times. As the British scholar James Bryce wrote in 1888, after observing the wisdom and beauty of the American political framework:

"Great men are not chosen president, firstly, because great men are rare in politics; secondly, because the method of choice does not bring them to the top; thirdly, because they are not, in quiet times, absolutely necessary."

The logical corollary to Bryce's observation is that in times of strife and trouble ... great men are absolutely necessary. IMO, George W. Bush is the perfect person to wage this war for the survival of our little American experiment. This campaign, this vital ongoing mission, will require methodical planning and execution; comprehensive detail to relentless political, economic and military engagements; the management of continually shifting diplomatic alliances; and the dedication, experience and talent of a wise, courageous and righteous leadership team that garners the complete trust of the American people. Bush. Powell. Cheney. Rumsfeld. Rice. Ridge. Ashcroft. Chertoff. George W. Bush is the only statesman on the American scene who can put a war team like this together, and have a chance to ensure that America emerges victorious from this mortal threat to our social and political foundation. I trust THIS group to wage an international AND DOMESTIC war for our political survival with the greatest honor and respect for the sanctity of our individual liberties.

The usual myopic simpletons here will continue to hysterically hyperbolize and rail against proposed domestic security measures that may be necessary to ensure our ongoing survival. If a National I.D. card will serve to ferret out illegal interlopers living among us and dedicated to our destruction - then let's do it. I need an ID card to get into Sam's Club for God's sake. A Cabinet Department dedicated to "Homeland Security" ... it's about damned time. As usual from these folks, the vitriol and angst is directed at Bush for what they envision he will do, not for what he proposes. There is a difference between our necessary vigilence to protect our Constitutional rights - and the unfounded paranoia that paralyzes one from acting to ensure one's survival.

[GretchenEE]

Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. (Either Franklin, Thoreau or Emerson - can't remember which).

That awesome sentence was penned by Mr. Franklin Emerson Thoreau.