by James Glaser
April 6, 2004

I don't know if George Bush now allowing Condolezza Rice to testify before the 9/11 commission in public and under oath, is a Flip or a Flop. Either one is a continuation of a pattern of George changing his mind.

At first Bush refused to allow Ms. Rice to testify under oath, because he stated that calling his advisors to testify under oath is a Congressional encroachment on the executive branch. That sounds pretty plausible until we remember that George Bush created this Commission and he handpicked all of the members. It did sound pretty good though.

Now we find out the real reason that George changed his mind and it was not some patriotic fervor to get at the truth. Bush is now allowing Rice to testify, because the 9/11 Commission Executive Director faxed the White House a 1945 photo showing a Presidential Chief of Staff appearing before a Pearl Harbor Congressional Panel. Phillip Zelikow, the former Republican Governor, who Bush put in charge of the Commission, told the White House to let Rice testify or that photo would be on every front page in 24 hours.

Call that black mail if you want, but it worked. This is an election year and Executive Privilege by damned, George wasn't going to let the American people wonder any longer why he was afraid to have Rice testify under oath, so I would call this a Flip.

Even before Bush became President, he would say one thing, but later on do another. Then Governor George Bush said on 10/3/00. "If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road." Three years later on 3/6/03 Bush said, "We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people."

On 5/23/03 CBS News reported that, "President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11." Four months later ABC News reported, "President Bush said today he now supports establish an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In January of this year Bush opposed a time extension for the 9/11 commission and in February he said he supported the extension.

In 2001 President Bush said he wanted Osama bin Laden "Dead or Alive." In 2002 at a press conference Bush said, "I don't know where he is, I have no idea and I really don't care. It's not important." President Bush first said Gay Marriage was a "State Issue" and he didn't want to be involved and now he wants a Constitutional Amendment banning Gay marriage.

Early this year the President said he would only testify to the 9/11 commission for an hour, a month later he said there would be no time limit.

Some of these flip/flops I found are hard to believe, but they are true. Bush apposed the Department of Homeland Security when Congress talked about it. Three months later you would have thought that George invented it.

George supported Free Trade, that is until he put tariffs on imported steel. I also seem to remember that Bush was telling the Nation, "No matter what" we are having a vote on my proposal in the UN. After he figured out no other nations were going to vote for it, he withdrew his request for a vote.

Bush opposed McCain-Feingold ... Bush signed McCain-Feingold into law.

When I started researching George Bush's Flip-Flops, I found that the list goes on and on. It becomes scary when you learn that you can't believe anything this President says. There are no firm beliefs in this White House. Everything is ruled by polls and this year's election.

I had hoped that there would be some core beliefs that you just knew this President would not waver from, but I couldn't find them, except for tax cuts aimed at the rich. I think that those tax cuts and Bush's belief that War brings Peace are the only two things he won't deviate from.

POST SCRIPT

I heard the President say on Monday, April 05, 2004, that we will not allow violence to influence the new Democracy in Iraq. We just finished a year in Iraq, in which we have killed over 40,000 Iraqi people, counting military and civilian deaths. We maimed and wounded thousands and thousands more, plus our own losses, but now we won't allow violence to influence this new democracy we are forcing on the Iraqi people. I think we are little late in stopping the violence that goes on each and every day in Iraq.