Different standards

From Dionne's column:

"Last Thursday afternoon, for example, the White House invited in journalists, mostly opinion writers, to sell them on the substance of the president's big speech on Guantanamo and the treatment of detainees. . . . Unbeknown to the writers until afterward, they had been divided into two groups, one more centrist with a sprinkling of moderate conservatives, the other more liberal. (I was in the liberal group.) The president made an unscheduled appearance at each briefing. As is his way, he charmed both groups. . . . The idea, as far as I can determine, was to sell the liberal group on those aspects of Obama's plan that are a break from George W. Bush's policies, and to sell the centrist group on the toughness of the president's approach and the fact that it squares with Bush's more moderate moves later in his second term."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/24/AR2009052401980.html

In other words, saying different things to different crowds, and telling them what they want to hear. This used to be considered a bad thing. Now, the same people say it's awesome communication skills.