Not long ago, I was determined that, no matter who was running in this year’s election, I was voting against George W. Bush. Most of my criticisms were simply rehashes of criticisms I’d read around the internet. It was only after a good number of debates on the Lounge area at Experts Exchange that I started changing my mind. It would be easy for someone, in a debate with me, to come up with a quote where I’d attacked Bush for his policies and use that against me in my current defense of him. Consider this a confession: I have waffled.

Here is the difference between my change of heart and Kerry’s vacillating — I’m willing to admit that my previous position was wrong. Faced with words that I used in criticism of Bush, I am willing to say, “Yes, I said that. I was wrong.” It amazes me how Bush’s opponents can criticise his failure to admit mistakes and apologize while allowing their candidate to flatly contradict himself time and time again without asking for, at the very least, clarification.

President Bush is a liar, according to John Kerry. As Bush pointed out in the debate, though, John Kerry agreed with him, based on the same evidence that Bush had. If Bush was lying, then so was Kerry. Kerry could easily address this obvious logical error. All he would have to do is admit to the American public that he’d based his opinion then on false evidence. “I was wrong, and I apologize.” So, why didn’t Kerry say that? I see only two options. One, it would mean admitting that President Bush had also been mistaken (but not lying). Two, Kerry is as incapable of admitting error as the Dems claim Bush is.

During the debates, Bush hit on Kerry’s self-opposition many times. Bush asserts that Kerry’s stance is that Iraq is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time… but that he can get other nations to come to help us. Bush asks the question that should be on the forefront of the mind of every American: How? Again, Kerry wasn’t without an appropriate response. “I’m going to apologize and ask them to help us fix our mistakes.” “I’m going to let them know that I was wrong — this is the right war, and every civilized nation has a duty to see it through.” It doesn’t matter that every “civilized” nation is either already helping or has flat-out said they won’t help — Kerry was charged to address the contradictions in these stances, and he failed.

I will readily admit that, going into this debate, John Kerry didn’t have much of a chance to win my vote. Since my very strong criticism of Bush last year, I’ve read quite a bit and considered the actions Bush has taken, and I’ve changed my mind on him. Still, while Kerry didn’t have a strong chance of winning my vote, he did have a chance, and his failure to either clarify why his apparent contradictions weren’t contradictions or to explain why his stance has changes has solidified my vote in Bush’s favor.