Obama Stops Wearing Flag Pin
Oct 4, 2007 03:06 PM US/Eastern
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he doesn't wear the American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for "true patriotism" since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Asked about the decision Wednesday in an interview with KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Illinois senator said he stopped doing so shortly after the attacks and instead hoped to show his patriotism by explaining his ideas to citizens.
"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," he said in the interview. "Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism."
Obama was campaigning in Iowa Thursday, the second day of a four-day trip to the early voting state.
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The issue for Mr Obama is not that the flag became a substitute, but that he has decided what patriotism means and it is not wearing the flag. For Obama, the flag and what it stands for apparently is not patriotic. The flag isn't and neither are the intentions of those who serve this country - for he questions the patriotism without raising the issue of patriotism when he raises the president or Cheney or any of the current administration. For Obama, patriotism is the opposite of everything Bush. America's flag is not something to respect. the fact that Canadian politicians wear their flag on the lapel must mean they are wearing a flag pin for the wrong reasons also. He does not understand. That failure to understand coupled with his serious character issues make him unworthy of support.
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