Only Fred can change his mind (e.g., CFR), everyone else “flip-flops”. ;-) Hey, if Fred wins the primary, I’ll support him. If Mitt wins, I’ll support him.
“if Fred wins the primary, I’ll support him. If Mitt wins, I’ll support him.”
Finally, something that sounds logical!
*Sigh*, this canard again. Admitting a mistake but not changing your core position is not flip-flopping. Taking the McCain-Feingold example, Thompson agrees that the bill has turned out to be a disaster, however, he is still firm in wanting to see campaign financing cleaned up, which was his reason for supporting McCain-Feingold in the first place. Wanting to take a different (and hopefully, better) approach to solving the same problem is not a flip-flop.
Changing a core position is a flip-flop. For example, 'rats like Hillary Clinton and John Edwards who voted for the Iraq war now talking about how they're against it have flip-flopped. Romney's running to the left of Kennedy on abortion and then becoming pro-life is a flip-flop (a welcome one if it is a true change of conviction and not just political opportunism). Of course, no one flip-flops like John Kerry, who often changes positions mid-sentence, so it's a hard bar for anyone to clear to be a "master flip-flopper" these days. ;)