That kind of bet-hedging helps explain the resonance of some of the partisan attacks on Mr. [JOHN F. KERRY]. Flip-flops aren't always bad; there's nothing to admire in politicians who never change their minds and never learn from experience. Though Mr. Kerry has been in public life longer than President Bush, his supporters can find a Bush flip for just about every Kerry flop. Mr. Bush fought the creation of a homeland security department until one day he loved the idea. As a candidate he supported regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants; as president he opposed it. Most famously, the great belittler of nation-building has dispatched American troops on hugely ambitious projects to rebuild the nations of Afghanistan, Iraq and now Haiti.