John Kerry Flip Flops Yet Again

From the New York Times:

President Bush said on Wednesday that he wanted to give a new national intelligence director "full budgetary authority,'' a sharp shift from an earlier position and an acquiescence to a major recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission.

Mr. Bush was acting after weeks of intense election-year pressure from Democrats and members of his own party, who have repeatedly told the White House that an intelligence director without budget authority would be powerless to push through significant reform. Mr. Bush also said he would submit his own proposal to Congress to overhaul the nation's intelligence agencies.

Rand Beers, Mr. Kerry's national security adviser, said in an interview that Mr. Bush was swaying in the political winds much as he did when he opposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, then endorsed it when it became a political inevitability.

"The pattern is pretty clear that the president stakes out positions and holds them as long as it is politically tenable," Mr. Beers said. "And when it becomes politically untenable, he puts forward partial measures in order to appear to be a proponent and to co-opt the issue. And then he slow-rolls to avoid doing anything serious to follow up."

I *really* wish John Kerry wouldn't change his mind for crass political reasons like that. It kinda makes you lose confidence in the guy's seriousness about governing the country.

UPDATE: I have just been informed that this story is about President Bush shifting his positions repeatedly for crass political reasons. Well, that's different. No problem. Carry on.