I Changed My Mind...

The piece about Bill Clinton I wish I could take back, and nine other things about which I no longer hold the same opinion.

In most countries, politicians try to impress the citizenry with their command of the issues and their deep insight into important political problems. In the United States, for example, Americans will spend the next two years watching a passel of Republicans and at least one Democrat try to convince voters that they know a whole bunch about foreign policy, the economy, education, the Constitution, climate change, terrorism, and a zillion other topics, as each tries to persuade the electorate to make him or her president.

What you probably won't hear, however, is a candidate saying, "Here's an issue where I was dead wrong, and here's how I eventually figured out that what I had previously believed was a lot of hokum." Aspiring leaders rarely admit past errors because to do so might make voters doubt their present judgment, and it leaves a candidate vulnerable to accusations of pandering or flip-flopping....

Continue reading (log in may be required): http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/13/i-changed-my-mind/