"I reserve the right as commander in chief to monitor the situation on the ground (in Iraq). If you started seeing all-out slaughter, then presumably you might be able to pause and take that into account in terms of our force structure. But my goal would be to have our combat troops out by the end of 2009."

— Barack Obama to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board on Feb. 13, 2008.

We bring up this nugget from the past only to make a point about flips, flops, umbrage and outrage — all, apparently, essential elements in this year's presidential campaign.

The presumptive Democratic nominee's comments to this board — made as he was still battling Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in state primaries — essentially mirror remarks last week that were widely ballyhooed as a departure — a flip-flop, followed quickly by those other standbys, umbrage and outrage.

Not that there haven't been shifts that speak more to political opportunism than to genuine, heartfelt changes of mind.

Obama, for instance, pledged to block a bill that granted immunity to telecommunication companies for helping the government spy on Americans. On Wednesday, however, he voted for a bill that expands government ability to snoop, though he voted for a failed amendment that would have stripped the immunity from the bill.

And presumptive Republican nominee John McCain? Bush tax cuts, evangelists, immigration and offshore drilling, to name a few views seemingly flipped and flopped.

Neither, of course, holds the patent on the flip-flop. If one did, he'd be richer than Bill Gates and likely wouldn't be running for president.

But our sense is that, this time, the public is not buying all this faux umbrage and outrage over either flip-flops or alleged campaign missteps. Voters know the difference between a pander and a shift honestly arrived at, between deserved criticism and gotcha politics. The media should not be enablers in this transparent game.

So, about this umbrage and outrage? Keep that flip-flop patent; we'll take the patent on these. We'd retire based on this campaign alone.

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.

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