Obama Flip-Flops on Iraq

Nary a year ago, Democrat Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama said:

We have to begin to end this war NOW! Not tomorrow. Not the next day. Not six months from now. But now.

The Senator's remarks can be found in the official Obama Campaign video here:



Today, the Senator's tune was piquantly tweaked as follows:

“I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability. That assessment has not changed,” he said. “And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”"

[Link]

Always is a very broad word. A quick look at the campaign video above shows a conspicuous absence of any cautions about troop security and stability. Always, indeed.

In fact, Sen. Obama's new position sounds a lot like Sen. Hillary Clinton's position. As Ripley might say, believe it, or not.

On the other hand, Sen. Obama's flip-flop teaches us much. Suddenly, the Senator's naive campaign slogan makes sense. Change we can believe in actually refers to Sen. Obama's ability to change the definition of words. For Sen. Obama, "now" means now only insofar as we can broaden its definition to include Sen. Obama's shifting policies.