Oil Drilling Flip Flop Okay for Me, Not for Thee
During my afternoon commute, I listen to Atlanta's biggest (and arguably best) talk radio station, AM 750 WSB, because they have the best traffic reports. Also on during this time is Sean Hannity, by-the-party-line conservative radio host. I would much rather listen to any other of WSB's shows than this one, but what can I do.
Yesterday, Hannity was denouncing Obama's flip flop on offshore oil drilling. Although I cannot give a word for word playback of what he said, the attitude was negative. In fact, much more negative than when John McAmnesty reversed his position on offshore drilling. 
Regular readers know that I am no fan of Obama. Neither am I a McCain fan. My bone-to-pick is more with Sean Hannity's differing measures when weighing the Democrat's or the Republican's flip-flop.
What would a conservative talk radio host say if challenged on offshore drilling flip-flops? "By examining his record on the campaign trail, you can clearly see that Obama says whatever is popular at the time, whatever he thinks will win him poll numbers. This demonstrates a lack of character and integrity." What if you mention that McCain does these things too? "Well, John McCain is a war hero and a man of integrity. He has made the right decision in the face of the energy crisis we are experience. And besides, Barack Obama has shown a clear radical bent by his associations." I'm not regular enough of a listener to be able to predict what Hannity would say, but every time someone does bring up a Republican's flip-flop to the position that he advocates, there's usually a slight pause followed by something like "...you know, I uh... what can I say to that? He had a position, realized it was wrong, and made a change."
Of course, while I do pay attention to politics, undoubtedly someone out there pays much more attention and has thought more about this. Have I missed a subtle nuance as to why Obama's flip-flop is worse than McCain's flip-flop?
Categories:
politics and junk and stuff
My take is that, if Obama is elected, he will revert back to his left-leaning ways, with full support of a Congress controlled by his party. So whenever he modifies a position to move to the center, IMO it is most likely a temporary change to improve his election chances. I just don't believe he'll support drilling once in the WH. At best, he'll move toward the left to appease his own party. But I think that's where he'd rather be anyway.
OTOH, I think McCain is a "true believer" in the danger posed by dependence on middle east oil. That, plus the influence of Repub's in Congress should be enough to keep him on board IMO.
I'd still rather have a genuine conservative, but I don't have that choice.
Patterico also blogged on the issue. Makes me wonder what the price of a barrel of oil was when McCain was opposing offshore drilling.
They're both politicians, and politicians are going to flip flop to stay in the good graces of the voters. I would agree that what's important is whether we can expect either of them to flip back once in office. Probably true that Obama is more likely to do that, but I don't trust either of them anyway. :-P
My husband gets an interesting email publication every day that highlights some of the stuff going on in the politcal world.
At the end is a cute little humor section that highlights what the late night hosts are saying about politicians in their monolouges.
Here is one from Jay Leno that I think fits what you are saying.
Jay Leno: "Well, Barack Obama and John McCain have both switched their positions on offshore oil drilling. They both used to be against it, but now they say they are for it under the right circumstances -- like if it helps them get elected."