I had a brief conversation with a man last week who noticed my Obama button and said, "I just can't decide." So I asked him what was bothering him and he answered me with "Obama was waffling on Iraq."

Then I gave a quick metaphorical thought to my hydrangea bush. Could I promise a friend a bouquet in the fall? No! There were conditions along the way over which I had no control: 1) A deer might eat the buds; 2) Hail storms might break the thin stems which held such large blossoms; 3) An unexpected frost could kill them. My answer would have to be, "no!" I had no control over these possible conditions.

That is what I told him. No person had control of the time between now and Nov. 3, but, in thinking of "waffling," going up and down and seeking out the deepest holes in the waffle is analogous to investigating all the pitfalls of ending a war. Perhaps I should insert a new word, "pancaking." "Pancaking" would be having a flat, round, no-end-in-sight, set position no matter what the realities or circumstances. I prefer the "waffling."