Have You Ever 'Flip-Flopped'?

Hello? …..Hello? Is there anyone home on this Thursday, August 7, 2008? Last week I talked about how that one of the big ‘no no’s’ in politics today is in making a gaffe where you end up saying something very wrong and everyone pounces on it. Well, there’s actually something even more sinister lurking within the political scene. It has to do with an even more dreaded distinction referred to as the political ‘flip-flop’. That happens whenever a candidate changes his or her well-known position to another position and often it comes off as nothing more than pandering for votes. Senator John Kerry may hold the record for supposed flip-flopping that did him much harm in his recent run for the presidency. One of his statements has already become a classic in the flip-flop hall of fame, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion for the war before I voted against it.”

I’m sure those who came up with the popular slipper styled shoe wishes everyone would just leave their Flip-Flop name alone. They most likely would prefer that folks would use U-turn or sudden change as opposed to denigrating their brand. However, they have their own set of problems as many doctors warn about the potential foot and ankle troubles that can come from wearing their flimsy sandals. Throughout our history folks have been prone to jump on the bandwagon in capturing names for something other than their original purpose. I’m sure the folks who do their best to make high quality cheeses could do without people referring to something of poor quality or cheaply made as ‘cheesy’.

The handlers for the current presumed nominees refer to their candidate's so-called ‘flip-flops’ as mere adjustments to their studied positions. Hey, we may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night, so give us all a break! During the presidential election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln ran against General George McClellan. He adopted a euphemism for his campaign slogan, “Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream.” (He supposedly remembered this saying from a Dutch farmer and it actually started out in a speech given by Lincoln where he said: “Don’t swap horses in the middle of the river.” but it was later revised.) Lincoln’s theory was that while many people were very unhappy about the Civil War, they might be more attracted to a known quantity instead of taking a chance on a brand new player whose main claim was a promise of ‘change’. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and yes, sweetheart, the more things change the more they stay the same! In view of all these realities, it’s best to remember to keep on keeping on as you trust it all into the hands of our Sovereign God! Amen. ….More later.