Liberal Talk Radio

Though I may be stepping on The Contrarian’s turf here, I feel obligated to note that, over the past week, events suggest that the President has actually listened to some criticism and made an effort to change course. Since pundits and politicians of all stripes always tell the president that he “ought to come clean with the American people,” we should recognize that he’s sort of doing that:

• He is sending more troops to Iraq’s troubled Al Anbar province, something some critics have been advocating for years.
• He admitted that “bring ‘em on,” “dead or alive,” and Abu Ghraib were mistakes and he regretted them.
• His Secretary of State, Condi Rice, announced that, for the first time, the U.S. is willing to engage in talks with Iran for the first time in 30 years (see Kevin Drum for important caveats here).
• He’s nominated a serious, respected candidate for Treasury Secretary, when all the pundits (including myself) were convinced that he’d hire a patsy with no real ability to make policy. Of course, actually changing course here is going to require some tough choices and tax hikes — two things that Republicans generally avoid.

Are these all for show? Possibly. Maybe nothing will come of them. But if we’re going to beat on the guy for not listening, we’ve got to acknowledge the opposite. After all, a little flip-flop now and then is a healthy thing, I think.