George W. Bush prides himself on "staying the course." You may recall that in 2004, Bush and his campaign handlers openly mocked Kerry's ever-evolving positions on various matters.
But is such flexibility necessarily bad? Or is the ability to recognize new facts and adapt to changing circumstances a good thing?
More than 200 years ago, one of America's founding fathers wasn't afraid to change his mind. James Madison--our fourth President--initially resisted calls for a Bill of Rights to be included in the new Constitution. He felt that such an addition would be redundant, since most of those freedoms were understood to be guaranteed by other sections of the Constitution.
Eventually, however, Madison came to not only realize that he was wrong, but to have the guts to admit his mistake. Once he threw his weight behind the Bill of Rights, it was adopted by the Continental Congress and became the first ten amendments to our Constitution.
Good thing Bush wasn't around back then, or he would have branded Adams a flip-flopper.
But is such flexibility necessarily bad? Or is the ability to recognize new facts and adapt to changing circumstances a good thing?
More than 200 years ago, one of America's founding fathers wasn't afraid to change his mind. James Madison--our fourth President--initially resisted calls for a Bill of Rights to be included in the new Constitution. He felt that such an addition would be redundant, since most of those freedoms were understood to be guaranteed by other sections of the Constitution.
Eventually, however, Madison came to not only realize that he was wrong, but to have the guts to admit his mistake. Once he threw his weight behind the Bill of Rights, it was adopted by the Continental Congress and became the first ten amendments to our Constitution.
Good thing Bush wasn't around back then, or he would have branded Adams a flip-flopper.
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