Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal quoted Barack Obama saying:
There is always some nonsense going on in general elections. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else… First it was my name that was the problem, and then there was the Muslim email thing, and that … hasn’t worked out so well, and now it’s the patriotism thing.
Is “the patriotism thing” merely fantastic propaganda, like the nasty, fictional email campaign, or is there more there? When Obama was questioned about why he chose to stop wearing an American flag lapel pin after 9/11, he said:
I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest. 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.
People do make too much of symbols, it’s true. But in defending his choice to discard the pin, Obama implies that the country is not at the present time “great”; instead it is in need of his corrective wisdom. So, let’s listen to the patriot testify. During last Thursday’s debate Barack Obama said of George Bush’s diplomatic approach:
If we think that meeting with the president is a privilege that has to be earned, I think that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world at this point in time.
And . . .we don’t?
It’s impossible not to infer that Obama suffers from genuine queasiness about even benign nationalism. The evidence is in, and it looks very bad. He has an aversion to displaying the flag; he doesn’t always put his hand to his heart during the National Anthem; his wife wasn’t proud of America until rapturous citizens formed a chanting army behind her husband; and he rejects America’s superiority among nations.
What’s most frightening is that if Hillary pointed this out it may do her more harm than good among Democratic voters. This past July, a poll showed that 76 percent of Republicans described themselves as very patriotic compared to 53 percent of Democrats. Given the margin of error, it’s conceivable that less than half of the Democratic voters consider themselves very patriotic. Also pertinent to this race: patriotism increases with age.
The Journal finds Obama countering charges with a remark that demonstrates his increasing knack for the self-incriminating defense. In typical Obama fashion, his statement has something for patriots and anti-Americans alike: “The way I will respond to [criticisms] is with the truth,” he said. “That I owe everything I am to this country.” People say the same thing about their mistakes, do they not?
