Oct 05 2007
Obama’s flag pin fiasco
The first thought I had out the gate on this was “who cares?”.
Honestly, I am not getting wrapped up in whether he wears a flag lapel pin or not. I believe these candidates need to be measured by their ideas, not by their wardrobe, and a shiny lapel pin is not an indicator of a truly capable leader. So I don’t watch debates and interviews and such keyed to critique their choice of jewelry.
But when asked, Obama turned what was really a dumb question on it’s head and may have done himself more damage then good.
Here is what happened:
Obama Dropped Flag Pin in War Statement: Obama Stops Wearing Flag Pin, Says He’ll Show Patriotism Through Ideas
An eagle-eyed reporter for the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, noticed something missing from Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama’s, D-Ill., lapels.
“You don’t have the American flag pin on. Is that a fashion statement?” the reporter asked, at the end of a brief interview with Obama on Wednesday. “Those have been on politicians since Sept. 12, 2001.”
The standard political reply to that question might well have been, “My patriotism speaks for itself.”
But Obama didn’t say that. (video)
Instead the Illinois senator answered the question at length, explaining that he no longer wears such a pin, at least in part, because of the Iraq War.
“You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin,” Obama said. “Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq War, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest.
“Instead,” he said, “I’m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism.”
So to make this believable, I have to accept that he did wear one then quit, some time ago, and has not since, in his grand protest.
I wonder if the pundits will now scour the video tapes for the last 6 years to find out when he actually made this an issue? Or if he ever actually wore one.
And I have to believe that this reporter “magically” noticed this out of the blue. Uh huh.
This has all the feeling of a planted story or at least a panted idea. Consider that he is implying that anyone who does wear one is doing so in a ‘jump on the bandwagon’ way, and that somewhere long ago he realized how hollow that was and chose a higher path. I don’t buy it.
And a part of me wonders…what is so bad about wearing a visible sign of unity? Sure, it in and of itself means nothing, true patriotism is in actions, not pins, but at the same time, there is something behind the notion that we need to identify with each other and stand as one. I fly a flag at my house, and have since the 90s, and will continue to do so regardless of who is in office. I don’t buy not flying it to protest decisions made by one party or person, I fly it to shoe my love and commitment to what America is and what it stands for: Freedom.
So I am of mixed feelings. While it is not a make not break issue to me, I do find the implausibility of this, and the hubris of his pronouncement a little irritating.
But he was never getting my vote anyway, so in the end, it is moot.
This simple answer would have given him the high ground: It takes more the a pin to make a patriot.
Trackposted to ST, MM, Hot Air, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, The Populist, Shadowscope, Webloggin, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Cao’s Blog, Conservative Cat, Nuke’s, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
9 Responses to “Obama’s flag pin fiasco”
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The Knucklehead of the Day award…
Today’s winner is Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies….
Like John Kerry before him, B. Hussein Obama sees himself more as a Citizen of the World than the resident of a nation-state.
I too don’t give a rip if he wears one or not, or why. The media, all of them are turning into National Enquirer rags.
LSU,
I agree that it’s each to his own for what ever reason. But I saw this on Kilroy’s Report and thought “what?”.
“Obama promised the crowd that he has since stopped wearing the flag because of the wrong message the pin sent. “I want to reassure you all, and Mr. Soros personally, that there was no patriotic intent behind the flag and, to avoid the appearance of patriotism, I will no longer wear an American flag lapel pin”, Obama said.”
It’s all part of his answer’s in the same time frame as your article. I have no intention of voting for him but say “he wanted to avoid the appearance of patroitism”? doesn’t sound like a good thing for a presidential canidate to say. But the part that really jumped out was his “reassurance to Mr. Soros personally that there was no patriotic intent behind the flag, to avoid the appearance patriotism he will no longer wear the pin?”
I really have a problem with his concern over what Soros thinks and he doesn’t want to appear patriotic? I personally would never vote for someone for president of America if they don’t think patriotism is important.
Where exactly does his alliance connect to? That is my problem or hangup, which ever anyone wants to make it, but if he doesn’t love America then he is running for office in the wrong country. I believe with my whole heart that yes, there is patriotism behind our flag.
Just to clarify — the website to which irtexas referred, The Kilroy Report, is a site of political satire and parody. While on occasion I do use real quotes, more times than not they are fake. It is a device used in humor. In the case of the Obama quotes, they were not spoken by the candidate. However, that being the case, I don’t necessarily think they are that far removed from what Obama WOULD have said if he felt free to speak his mind.
Just wanted to clear that up. Nice site you got here.
As an aside, I see you too got suckered into putting that annoying “Tigyrrrr Express” guy into your blogroll. It seems to be a big club. I did too and now I can’t get him off.
We were just discussing this on another website. I did a search to see if Obama flies a flag in front of his home or considers it an eyesore and came across your site. I couldn’t agree with you more. Good post and good comments.
I’m Glad Barack Hussein Obama Won’t Wear the Ameri…
Im glad that Barack Hussein Obama is refusing to wear the American flag lapel pin. Frankly, I think its silly that he decided to make a statement of NOT wearing it and that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to make a bigger issue of it. Including….
How can you expect to be elected to the highest position in the land and not wear the flag? I respect President Bush for always wearing the flag every time he is in the public limelight.
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