Sen. Flip-Flop: here he goes again!

By Roger Wm. Hughes

If America thought John Kerry was Senator Flip-Flop on the issues, America has become even more amazed as Kerry tries to communicate who and what he is about. First, Kerry was "a better set of choices." Then in typical Kerry style, he changed to be "a better set of choices.” In September of 2003, he discovered the "courage to do what’s right for America." However, somehow that wasn’t "the real deal." So, he became “the real deal.” Kerry then told America to "bring it on." Once again, this was not who and what Kerry was about, so "change starts here." As if Kerry had not put us through enough torturous change, he touted that he would "build a stronger America." How, you might ask, was Kerry to do this? He would do it by his "lifetime of service and strength."

It is no wonder that a single force does not head his staff. How could a single leading voice from the Kerry campaign remain sane when the question is what is the campaign theme of the moment -- the theme that is to remain stable and unchanging that delivers in no more than six or seven words what America can expect from Kerry and his presidency.

Well, the Kerry campaign hopes that their swift boat has finally come upon a sure and swift course that will offer America that constant steady message of what America can be. That’s right, "let America be America again."

Oh from that prophetic ode of Langston Hughes comes hope that the rudderless campaign of Kerry knows who and what they are about at last. However, Hughes’ poem calls on America to become what it never was. Hughes found America to have never been America because America never offered hope to Black America. Yet, Hughes hoped that America could one day speak to Black Americans’ spirits and hopes.

Like Langston Hughes, Kerry has found that America has never offered hope to him. He lives still in his mind and spirit on that swift boat in Vietnam. He is still protesting against America with his friends like Jane Fonda. He still hopes that he can "let America be America again."

Let us hope for the sanity of the Kerry campaign staff that Sen. Flip-Flop will flip no more over who and what it is that Kerry is offering America.