NEWSDAY 8/3/03

      When people make a public commitment, their own ideas really change in support of what they commit themselves to.  It's called cognitive dissonance.  The mind tries to support what one's already said.  It's a psychological process that someone may not even be aware of.  With every politician, once he or she has made that public statement, his or her own personal viewpoints shift to supporting it.  So in the process of trying to work something out, it's good not to make a line in the sand immediately because it becomes very difficult to be flexible and compromise.  A compromise is something neither side is ever satisfied with.

Carol Goldberg