Imagine a likely situation: a conservative accuses a liberal politician of “lack of patriotism” because, of all things, he wasn’t wearing an American flag lapel pin.
Which of the following responses by the liberal do you think more likely?
- “Wait, I’m patriotic too!” <rushes to buy a lapel pin>
- “A party that presided over a war in which our troops did not get the body armor they needed, or were sending troops over who were untrained because of poor planning, or are not fulfilling the veterans’ benefits that these troops need when they come home, or are undermining our Constitution with warrantless wiretaps that are unnecessary? That is a debate I am very happy to have. We’ll see what the American people think is the true definition of patriotism.”
The first answer is, of course, the more likely one. It’s what Democrats have been doing since 2001. Every time Dems criticized the Bush administration, the latter knew it could stop the former in their tracks and make them scurry back to their holes simply by questioning their “patriotism”. How many times have you heard “Why do you hate America?”… and how many times did you see such a dishonest, disgusting question (much like “when did you stop beating your wife?”) actually work?
This is why Obama’s reply (which number 2, above, is) is so impressive. Not because it was genius, or because it took a lot of guts, but simply because it was virtually unprecedented in this decade. When have Democrats last stood up to Republican bullies? I don’t even remember. When did a Democrat last refuse to accept such warped definitions? What is “patriotism”, anyway: defending the Constitution and the American ideals… or wearing a flag and calling those who don’t “unpatriotic” and “un-American”?
Republicans — especially the neocon thugs — love to redefine the meanings of words to their advantage, and, sadly, Democrats tend to fall for it. Oppose the Patriot Act? You’re unpatriotic — never mind that it’s them who’re violating the Constitution of the United States. Oppose the so-called “War on Terror”? You’re a terrorist-supporter. Disagree with the Iraq war? You hate the military and America. Oppose taking away liberties in the name of “freedom”? You hate freedom.
And nobody ever calls them on it. Until now, apparently.
I’m betting every other Democrat politician is in shock right now… “you mean we don’t have to accept their definitions and their rules?!? I’ve never thought of that before…” 
Thanks to: Dangerous Intersection, Salon.com
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Do you have a link of Obama saying that?
Hermann: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/24/obama.patriotism/index.html .
On that page you can also watch the corresponding video (which I find pretty disgustingly biased against Obama, BTW), but it doesn’t include Obama saying that.
Regarding the video: I hate how they try to make Obama and his wife look bad on stupid things like wearing a pin or not putting his hand over his heart. As if this determined how good a president is or is going to be. If that is all it takes to be perceived as a good president, then no wonder Jr. Bush got re-elected after doing the worst job in the history of the USA.
Before you crown him, remember his response to the “Obama is a Muslim” rumor was this:
http://bligbi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/obama-religious-tract.png
Leslie: of course he’s a Christian. His opponents are saying he’s a Muslim (which he isn’t), and he *must* do something about it. On your country (I assume you’re American) you can’t say “my beliefs are none of your business” and stand any chance of getting elected, unfortunately.
Still, Obama was the only candidate who dared to say that:
Obvious, isn’t it? But none of the other candidates are saying that (and some, like Huckabee, are saying the exact opposite).
“Leslie: of course he’s a Christian. His opponents are saying he’s a Muslim (which he isn’t), and he *must* do something about it.”
Well, this is just the thing. His response to those attacks wasn’t to bravely challenge the nature of them but to fall back on distasteful pandering to the religious that nearly matched Huckabee. So maybe he stood up on the lapel pin issue, but he didn’t take a stand on the religious one. And, honestly, I thought Edwards’ “It’s time to be patriotic about something other than war,” was more on point on that issue.