No flip-flop flaps for Arnold Schwarzenegger; he likes 'em

In politics, "flip-flop" is considered the equivalent of two four-letter words -- but not by Arnold Schwarzenegger. If anything, the California governor says, politicians should flip-flop more frequently.

"Flip-flopping is getting a bad rap, because I think it is great," he said during an interview taped last week and broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Someone has made a mistake.  I mean, someone has, for 20 or 30 years, been in the wrong place with his idea and with his ideology and says, 'You know something?  I changed my mind.  I am now for this.'

"As long as he's honest or she's honest, I think that is a wonderful thing.  You can change your mind," he said. "I have changed my mind on things, and there is nothing wrong with it."

As a politician, Schwarzenegger has tried to avoid hard-line positions on the right or the left, but he noted that winning presidential primaries -- appealing to a party's core voters, in other words -- may require candidates to veer to the extreme.

But now that he has enough delegates to become the GOP nominee, John McCain "hopefully" will "wander a little more to the left," Schwarzenegger said. As for McCain's Democratic counterpart, Barack Obama, "what he has done consistently has been very much to the left, and he's now more and more going to the right."

"You think that's smart," said host George Stephanopoulos.

"That's what they have to do," Schwarzenegger replied.

-- Leslie Hoffecker

Comments

[Alessandro Machi]

I guess this means if two months from now Arnold decides to be against Flip Flopping, he will be just as right as he is today.

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[James Orr]

About time somebody said it. Changing your mind is a good thing!

[Mark Davis]

...er, I think being from Austria maybe has Arnold a bit confused about the terminology here. No one expects a politician to hold the same view all of the time and in fact one of the great things about politics is the opportunity it presents to try and guess what position a politician actually has despite the one he claims. What is meant by "flip-flop" is not that after 20 or 30 years of due consideration a politician comes to a different opinion but rather that after a few weeks he changes from his original position to the opposite position or "flips" and then after another few weeks "flop" back to his original position. Sort of like if you were to come back a third time as your original Terminator self...

[Mike]

alessandro - funny

By the way, Obama just flip flopped on the iran missile tests, and Hillary just SLAMMED him! it's here: http://www.newsbreaktimes.com/article

[John-Michael Scott]

To be frank - changing one's mind is part of the evolution of any individual. Why should the average joe in the street have the right to change course 50 times per day while a Politician is held to a cast in stone version of correctness? We all want to know what a politician stands for, but at the end of the day - these are just major points of view on things that are important to us - not the final say. In truth, our government leaders will try to do what they feel is right based on their various biases toward or against fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, domestic policy generally, foreign policy generally, energy policy, faith policy, etc. I think it would be frightening if my elected official faced afully substantiated and proven argument for instance that we are creating more global warming in by raising obese cows and refused to take the science into account when making a policy decision even if prior he or she had been all for raising obese cows.

Just a thought.

[Wendal]

Well, I can't say I've ever seen The Gov do a flip, I certainly have seen quite a few of his flops. Movies or otherwise. He has quite a few of those in either genre.

[dave]

as noted before:

'even by their own characterization, those people openly adhere to and display, convictions and aspirations, that are nothing less than opportunistic, and 'predatory.'
this is their choice. if, and when, people elect those self-appointed 'leaders' to 'represent' them, that is their choice: their informed consent to be abused, by those that would abuse. better choices are available, and easily affordable: all it takes is some integrity.'

there is a vast difference between the constant vigilant assessment and reassessment of ever changing situations and problems on the grounds of firm principled integrity and the guidelines of the constitution, as does the legitimate republican candidate for president RON PAUL, and unprincipled, sell-out behavior, outright lying, cheating, stealing, advocating and promoting treason and corruption...as are doing the likes of obama, bush, the clintons, mccain, schwarzenegger...it is hard to imagine how anyone could fail to see that those people are deliberately working counter to the interests of the people and the american republic, when they openly - and even 'proudly' - say so over and over again, themselves, and constantly prove it by their actions. what a travesty.

[John]

When a foreign born actor who becomes a governor of the largest state in the USA starts making more sense than the presidential candidates, you know we are in trouble. Of course, I knew that anyways. Wake up people, we are headed for the biggest financial meltdown in American history, including the "great depression".

[Bill]

There are flips, and then there are FLIPS.
When a candidate in a primary election says one thing, then says the opposite in the general election campaign, that's a FLIP. It's a fairly obvious play for votes, rather than a statement of position.
It's unfortunate that so many voters don't recognize this, no matter which side the voter is on.