> Agree or disagree, you always knew where he stood!

This is always such a weird phrasing to me. We collectively praise politicians for this (and admittedly, many of them will just say anything to get elected), but the phrase discourages the idea that learning and changing your mind is valuable.

(Not trying to single you out, just writing about how we collectively do this. I'm sure I've done it in the past.)

The phrasing was indeed trite.

The anecdote was intended to highlight the directness of his answer rather than the constancy of his position.