I'm a little confused

This is an admittedly simplistic reading of the situation, but there's something I just can't help but be annoyed by throughout the political campaigning that has been going on recently.

Why exactly is it a bad thing that candidates have evolved and changed their opinions in some ways on certain issues? Isn't the obsessive ideological bent exactly what people (rightly) hate about George W. Bush? He has one viewpoint that he adheres to and never changes his mind. Hasn't anyone ever read Emerson (and yes I know that there are pithy quotes to support everything under the sun)?

Constantly changing your mind about major issues or changing your mind specifically to pander to voters (Mitt-ster I'm looking at you) is a bad quality. But the ability to carefully analyze a situation and change your opinion should be a quality that we look for in a leader, not something that we demonize.

Heck, I swore off South Park for two or three years at one point and now I think it's one of the greatest comedy shows ever made. You see...people can change.