DUCKS, FLIPS AND PANDERS

The hypocrisy of presidential candidates is so familiar that voters must often try to figure out which politician is lying least -- and already the 1996 campaign is shaping up as an all-time whopper. Rarely has there been a presidential race with so many new positions and flip-flops this early in the game. Consider how, on just a few of the issues, the Republican candidates, in searching for an advantage, are rushing to rise above principle:

Affirmative action, the hottest of the current season's hot-button issues, has provoked near unanimity. Every Republican wants to "revisit," if not entirely junk, the minority-preference...