--- title: Political Flip-Flopping: A Historical Defense description: What’s so wrong about admitting you were wrong? canonical: https://time.com/3860133/in-defense-of-flip-flopping/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-15T20:00:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:57.638Z article:section: History og:title: Political Flip-Flopping: A Historical Defense og:description: What’s so wrong about admitting you were wrong? og:url: https://time.com/3860133/in-defense-of-flip-flopping/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf50c0859dff4810/6987efde524fc0c11bdf0b84/lincoln.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Abraham Lincoln, circa 1855. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Political Flip-Flopping: A Historical Defense twitter:description: What’s so wrong about admitting you were wrong? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf50c0859dff4810/6987efde524fc0c11bdf0b84/lincoln.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # In Defense of Flip-Flopping > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [David O. Stewart / History News Network](https://time.com/author/history-news-network/) ## David O. Stewart / History News Network May 15, 2015 8:00 PM UTC  President Abraham Lincoln, circa 1855. President Abraham Lincoln, circa 1855. Archive Photos/Getty Images by [David O. Stewart / History News Network](https://time.com/author/history-news-network/) ## David O. Stewart / History News Network May 15, 2015 8:00 PM UTC  History News Network _This post is in partnership with the_ [_History News Network_](http://historynewsnetwork.org/)_, the website that puts the news into historical perspective. The article below was originally published at_ [_HNN._](http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/159227) “_The matter does not appear to me now as it appears to have appeared to me then.”–_ Baron Bramwell, _Andrews v. Styrop_ (1872) The presidential campaign of 2016 has barely begun. The Iowa caucuses are nine months away. Yet the hounds, baying and snapping, have been loosed against the political crime of flip-flopping, charging after any suggestion that a candidate has reconsidered an earlier opinion. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being pilloried (hard to resist the rhyme) for changing her views on a [foreign trade deal](http://nypost.com/2015/04/25/hillarys-trade-deal-flip-flop-angered-fellow-democrats/), not to mention [immigration](https://www.gop.com/hillary-clintons-flip-flop-on-immigration-shows-hispandering/), and [gay marriage](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-gay-marriage-immigration-117072.html), and government support for [ethanol.](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-gay-marriage-immigration-117072.html) Then there’s former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, as close to a front-runner as the Republicans have. Could he have flip-flopped? You betcha. How about Indiana’s [“religious freedom/anti-gay” law](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeb-bush-flip-indiana-law), plus [immigration](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/mar/08/debbie-wasserman-schultz/jeb-bush-flip-flop-immigration-pathway-citizenship/), or even his wavering commitment to the [Paleo diet](http://fusion.net/story/125731/jeb-bush-paleo-diet-other-foods-he-should-eat/?utm%5Fsource=rss&utm%5Fmedium=feed&utm%5Fcampaign=/feed/). What about fellow Floridian Senator Marco Rubio? Surely he’s too fresh-faced and principled to fall into the flip-flop trap? Ah, but he did. That fiendish immigration issue snagged him [squarely in the flip-flop](http://www.salon.com/2014/08/27/marco%5Frubios%5Fexistential%5Fflip%5Fflop%5Fwhy%5Fhe%5Fdemonized%5Fdreamers%5Fto%5Fwin%5Fover%5Fsouth%5Fcarolina%5Fconservatives/). Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey? Flip-flopper on the [Common Core](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1OPRB%5FenUS635US635&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Chris+Christie+flip+flop) education program. And [immigration. ](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/04/10/republican-presidental-candidates-immigration-reform-column/25366953/) And the [War on Drugs](http://www.thefix.com/content/new-jersey-gov-chris-christie-flip-flops-drug-war-policies). What about Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a straight-shooting Midwesterner, not him too? [Immigration again,](http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2015/feb/04/scott-walker/did-scott-walker-flip-flop-pathway-citizenship/) this time an “Olympics-quality” flip-flop according to a former Walker aide, plus that pesky [ethanol](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the%5Fslatest/2015/03/01/scott%5Fwalker%5Fsays%5Fhis%5Fmind%5Fhas%5Fchanged%5Fon%5Fimmigration.html) issue, and [anti-gay discrimination](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/scott-walkers-discriminat%5Fn%5F6972190.html). Whoa, whoa, whoa. To paraphrase the Bob Dylan lyric, something is happening here, and we do know what it is. Presidential campaigns are devolving into a circular game of “gotcha.” Have you changed your position, rethought an idea? Then you are by presumptively unworthy, unreliable, and downright scummy. To the political guillotine with you! But don’t we want our leaders to revise their views and understanding of the world based on new information or new ideas? Indeed, don’t we want them to be wise and candid enough to figure out when they’re just plain wrong? Today’s demands for unyielding political consistency would disqualify a number of former presidents from office. In 1861, Abraham Lincoln supported a constitutional amendment to preserve slavery in those Southern states where it was legal. Eighteen months later he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Flip. Flop. Or maybe it was the sharpening of moral sensibility and strategic sense in the face of a horrible civil war. Woodrow Wilson won re-election in 1916 by boasting that he “kept us out of war,” shielding American boys from the slaughter of The Great War. Less than five weeks after he took the oath of office for his second term, Wilson responded to German submarine attacks by asking Congress to declare war. James Madison so disliked Alexander Hamilton’s Bank of the United States – fearing it as a centralizing force – that he created a formal opposition to the administration of President George Washington. When the bank’s charter expired twenty years later, Madison decided the bank was useful after all and called for its renewal. After Congress created the second Bank of the United States, Madison signed the enacting legislation into law. Even the great Washington, pillar of American rectitude and integrity, was forced by British military successes to abandon his strategy of confronting the British Army in major battles. He adopted instead a “Fabian” strategy of avoiding pitched fights while harassing the British and draining its soldiers and its citizens of commitment for a foreign war. We’ve all flip-flopped on something. Between 2003 and 2013, [an opinion survey](http://publicreligion.org/research/2014/02/2014-lgbt-survey/#.VT1YGSFVhBc) found that support for gay marriage rose from 32 percent to 53 percent. That’s millions and millions of flip-floppers. Presidents sometimes need to stand up against public opinion and political opposition. Sometimes they need to accommodate both. A candidate who changes position frequently may lack the ability to stand firm. One who rarely changes position may be impervious to reason. What really matters isn’t whether the candidate has changed his or her view, but whether the candidate makes good decisions, whether he or she makes sense. Let’s concentrate on that. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters [_David O. Stewart_ ](http://www.davidostewart.com/)_is the author of “Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America” and other works of history and fiction._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3860133/in-defense-of-flip-flopping/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3860133/in-defense-of-flip-flopping/"},"headline":"In Defense of Flip-Flopping","datePublished":"2015-05-15T20:00:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:57.638Z","description":"What’s so wrong about admitting you were wrong?","url":"https://time.com/3860133/in-defense-of-flip-flopping/","keywords":["politics","Opinion topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf50c0859dff4810/6987efde524fc0c11bdf0b84/lincoln.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David O. 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