It's time for the American people to tell members of the press that we're simply not as simple-minded as they think. If a politician changes his or her mind on the basis of better information, they're immediately accused of inconsistency. And equally damaging is the tendency for politicians to run from the accusation. What's wrong with being for a war you were lied to about and against it once you know the truth? What's wrong, for that matter, with being for anything and then later, on the basis of more extensive or accurate knowledge, deciding to change your mind? It's a sign of intelligence - of learning. And yet, like dogs with bones, the press keeps pressing senators and congressional representatives to admit to having made a mistake or being wrong about the war in Iraq if they want to find a way out of it. "Were you wrong, Senator?" "Do you regret your vote, Congressman?" "So are you changing your mind?" But, really, isn't this different than what you said before Senator?"
As Iraq plunges into civil war and the war we're in backfires on the current administration, why is it that the decision-makers must have their feet held to the fire about changing their minds? How are we supposed to get out of this mess, if foolish consistency, "the hobgoblin of little minds" is the major criteria by which decisions about the future of the world are made? It's ludicrous. The most intelligent minds entertain change. They don't run from it.
We have a President who won't change his mind about much of anything no matter the level of hypocrisy and a Secretary of Defense who asks himself his own questions so he can repeat himself. "Am I concerned about the way things are going?" "Yes," he might say instead of responding to a question asked. "Does that mean we need to change what we're doing? Not necessarily. Am I confident in our strategy? Of course." And this is somehow better than being "inconsistent," -- reconsidering a war that isn't what it was supposed to be, bringing about horrible conditions that weren't envisioned, based on events that never occurred.
As we all stand precariously perched on the precipice of widespread war, we'd better become more tolerant of and willing to vote for people, with our futures in their hands, bold enough to look back and say: "That was yesterday. This is today."