Obama Has A Patriotism Problem

The AP is running a story that's trouble for Barack Obama but it's a mainstream media confirmation of what many others had already noted - Obama seems to have trouble with patriotism:

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) - Barack Obama wants to make something clear: He loves America.

After a series of incidents that prompted questions about his patriotism, the Democratic presidential candidate is peppering speeches with explicit statements on his love of country.

"I love this country not because it's perfect but because we've always been able to move it closer to perfection," he told an audience in North Dakota.

And in Montana: "It's a country where ... I've seen ordinary Americans find justice, where I've seen progress made for working families who need leaders who are willing to stand up and fight for them. That is the country I love."

Obama also stirs crowds into a frenzy of cheering and clapping when he talks about treating military veterans with respect, of giving them the best possible equipment, of providing top-notch health care for the wounded.

"They have earned our respect," the Illinois senator exclaims.

Such patriotic statements could be an effort to reassure voters wondering about whether he truly loves the country.

First came questions about why he doesn't wear a flag lapel pin. Obama said he thinks true patriotism is demonstrated by a person's actions, not his lapel.

Then came a wave of e-mails with a picture that supposedly showed him refusing to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Obama said the picture was actually taken during the national anthem, and he was singing.

More recently, and more seriously for Obama, his wife was quoted as saying the country's response to his campaign had made her proud of America for the first time. And his pastor was seen criticizing the country in endlessly repeated video excerpts of sermons criticizing government racism.

"Not 'God Bless America'—God damn America!" said the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who also called the country the "U.S. of KKK-A."

Polls haven't shown any major political damage to Obama from such comments, but critics have used them to suggest that Obama isn't patriotic—not an idea he wants in the minds of Pennsylvania and Indiana voters as critical primaries approach.

There's a fair amount of elitism in Barack and Michelle Obama, and elites don't believe in things higher than themselves, such as patriotism. Whether or not he loves his country, it's not a shameful act to demonstrate your feelings for America by the simple act of placing one's hand over your heart or even wearing a lapel flag pin. Small stuff, but the apparent willfulness with which he avoids those simple acts paints a picture of the man that is not particularly attractive.