Flip-Flops Don't Always Give Us Blisters

Flip-flops are an easy summer target for media covering the presidential campaign, Ruth Marcus writes in the Washington Post. But, she notes, it's important to remember that the issues are more important than the candidates' changing views on them. "We in the media risk becoming the enablers of inanity by acting as if all flip-flops are created equal, and equally bad."

Some politicians flip-flop so blatantly—paging Mitt Romney—voters should question whether they truly believe anything. But if a candidate takes a new position, then it's the position and not the flip that requires scrutiny. And imagine if earlier candidates had been lambasted as flip-floppers: "After all," Marcus reminds, "Lincoln was against forcing the states to abolish slavery before he was for it." (More flip flop stories.)