It's true, he has been opportunistic and is not a good candidate. But at least he didn't lie and conduct a catastophic invasion.

UPDATE: This characterization stuck, like it or not, and resonated with the American people. Kerry did not change the way he nuanced issues and allowed his opponent to further characterize him as a flip-flopper. Now, is it that tough to simply say what you truly believe, on a single topic? If so, are you sure we need to fire Bush and ensconce someone with such a problem communicating clearly? I thought Bush was the one who had this problem. Sometimes, as President, you need to state clearly your view on something. I'm not sure Kerry can do that. There are some issues he certainly cannot, try as his advisors and handlers may. If it's frustrating for his voting faithful, how frustrating must it be for those close to him, whose futures ride on him winning this election. ORIGINAL COMMENT (7/20/04): Kerry not only flip-flops, he is a WORLD CLASS flip-flopper. He is a liberal democrat Senator from Massaachusetts! He changes his mind in order to find, and hide behind, the fig leaf. The fig leaf hides his idiotic left wing liberal agenda from view and it's pretty small and it moves very quickly at times. A guy his age can't dance quite as quickly as he once could, give him a break! If you look real close, the fig leaf says, I'm a Moderate. Clinton could hide behind the fig leaf, Gore couldn't. Kerry definitely can't.

Fair or not, this has been EXTREMELY effective for Bush. In fact, it seems to be the foundation of his reelection campaign. And you have to hand it to the Bush campaign for consistency. Today's Kerry should debate himself sound bite was actually pretty funny. Of course, if I were Kerry, I would point out that the reason that I flip-flopped is because you (gwb) misled (lied to?) congress and misled (lied to?) the country in building your case for war. Hell, if someone tells me that my neighbor has an atomic bomb and is going to drop it on my house unless I do something, I'd probably try and take that person out. Even more likely if I'm told that this neighbor is also the same guy that killed my friend. But if someone then tells me that it actually isn't a bomb, but a water pistol, and actually, the neighbor had nothing to do with killing my friend, I'd probably flip flop on my earlier position of preemptively taking the guy down. Then I'd probably turn my attention on the simpleton (liar?) that provided me this misinformation to begin with.

While this could be effective, and has been shown to have some adhesivness, it is a terrible argument to make. Bush has himself flip-flopped on a number of issues, as best shown by the Daily Show's debate between Gov. George W. Bush and Pres. George W. Bush. I believe Kerry could easily swat away this attack by responding quickly and portraying the President as a flip-flopper on many more issues. If he doesn't respond then he could be labeled a flip-flopper and it could certainly hurt him.

Has anyone ever seen Kerry straight up answer a question? he's a typical liberal, they change the subject when asked a tough question, Like Kerry Well you see... uh it's like this.....uh no that's not true.... Kerry is a cock eyed moron who think's he's better than everyone else, especially the people in the Boston DMV

The fact that he flip-flops on a large number of issues, not just Iraq, could be easily attacked by the Republicans. Lots of people would have doubts about an indecisive leader. But then again Clinton was elected in `92.

First of all he Sucks. Second of all yopu try to debate with him on a topic about Iraq he cant even answer straightly because he is 2 busy flip flopping. That will be a down fall come election day.

John Kerry wears Iraqi flip-flopps? I'm horrified! I will never vote for any damned AlGorish flippy-flopper! Don't you think this line of 'attack' might be pretty dumb? I'm sorry-this a right-wing echo chamber, isn't it?

I did vote for the bill, before I voted against it...

Is it better to stay the course and immerse ourselves in a long deadly struggle which was started based on fault thinking?

He hasen't just flip flopped on Iraq. He flips and flops all over the place on everything.

Kerry doesn't know what he believes in he believes in whatever will keep his A** from getting kicked at the moment.

Kerry needs to make his points about Iraq clearly and briefly. The more he talks about Iraq, criticizes the President, and changes his mind on issues involving Irag, the more he hurts himself with the moderates in this country. The moderates know where Bush stands on this issue whether they agree with him or not. Moderates have no idea where Kerry has clearly defined himself because he hasn't.

It's not just John Kerry flip-flopping on Iraq. There's also the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, Death Penalty, Death Penalty for terrorists, etc. Bush and Rove can dust off the same playbook they used in 2000. The idea that Bush was a strong leader with core principles while Gore was wishy-washy on a number of issues took Bush a long way in 2000. In fact, it was his strongest asset. If Kerry can't come up with a reasonable explanation for these issues, it might be a long election night for him.

John Kerry has flip flopped on everything. He'll say anything if it's politically expedient or if someone pays him. He's the ultimate opportunist. Of course, he could always counter this charge by pointing out that he only supported the war in the first place because he, along with the rest of the country, was lied to by the current administration. He could even pretend to be outraged.

I attended a Kerry campaign speech on my lunch break this past Tuesday, which happened to be in convenient walking distance. A group of College Republicans was in the front row for the speech, banging together sandals (also called flip flops) as a statement that Kerry flip flops on issues. Kerry responded by listing a number of ways in which Bush has flip flopped. In both cases, I find the flip flop characterization to be misleading and beside the point in this election. The point should not be who has been the most unwavering with their decisions, since paths should sometimes be changed in light of new circumstances and evidence. Being honest about your mistakes and willing to right them should be viewed as a sign of character, not a sign of weakness. Spin doctors will continue to compete on the issue of who is the more decisive guy, and that may influence some voters. However, the debate should really focus on which candidate will keep making the most intelligent decisions over time.

Actually we don't know where Kerry stands on Iraq. He has never spoken forthrightly about what he would do with Iraq. Even this week as the situation in the country deteriorated, Kerry refused to say even a word about it. I think we're entitled to know where he wants to take our nations foreign policy. We need creative solutions that will better our strategic situation in the Middle East while improving relations at the same time. Right now, we're not hearing anything from either Bush or Kerry. The political parties are more interested in scoring points off of each other in order to win back power. That's politics, but there has to be purpose behind it all as well. Although Iraq is increasingly becoming a liability for Bush, it's very easy to pin him as indecisive on a critical matter like war. But Kerry could well say that it's not about indecisiveness, but rather seeing very side to the issue. Merely lashing out doesn't get you that far. The thing is that he voted for the war and now says he's against it, a difficult position to take. Bush has his liabilities on this issue, but so does Kerry.