What's a flip-flop?

Senator John Kerry accused Governor Mitt Romney of being a flip-flop, still oblivious to any understanding as to what the term might mean and why his adherence to its principles doomed his presidential aspirations.

Kerry: "I actually voted against the funding bill before I voted for it."

Romney: "After a great deal of personal reflection, I revised my position on abortion."

There's a definite difference between the Kerry/Hillary method of licking a finger, holding it to the wind, and picking a position du jour compared to Romney having a deep, personal reflection and deciding that he had different opinions on important topics. The difference is - you can very clearly tell where Romney is on a position: he originally felt that abortion should be a private decision, but changed his mind and now believes that it should be regulated by the government. You can never tell about Kerry or Hillary: they voted for the war, voted alternately for and against funding the war, voted alternately for and against supporting specific strategies, have made statements alternately accusing the military of being corrupt and commending their bravery, etc.

The "flip-flop" tag is a legitimate one to apply to the individuals who, like Kerry and Hillary, try to change their position in order to conform to a particular crowd. If they both were originally pro-war and are now anti-war, that's fine. It's the tap-dance they've done int he intervening years where they wander back-and-forth across an imaginary line depending on the audience that earns them their title.