Better Than A Flip-Flop

John McCain, then later Barack Obama, spoke to July 8, 2008 to the gathering of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington, D.C. The greatest attention, justifiably, was given to Obama's criticism of McCain's seeming 180-degree reversal on the matter of "comprehensive immigration reform." Virtually every report of the appearance of either or both presumptive nominees noted Obama's statement

....for eight long years, we've had a President who made all kinds of promises to Latinos on the campaign trail, but failed to live up to them in the White House, and we can't afford that anymore. We need a President who isn't going to walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular.

Notable enough, but Obama's remark immediately prior to this comment is more telling but noted in fewer articles reporting on the candidates' comments. He noted

Now, I know Senator McCain used to buck his party on immigration by fighting for comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he abandoned his courageous stance, and said that he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote.

This wasn't the first time someone has pointed out that McCain said that he would vote against McCain-Kennedy if it hit the floor again. But a reversal this blatant is extraordinary, beyond the famed "flip-flop," but virtually ignored by the mainstream media. It's one thing to "walk away" from your legislative proposal- quite something else to admit you would vote against it if you have a second chance.