August J. Pollak's toon is perfect. While winding up my time at Fort Benning's Infantry training program a photo/video that showed Barack Obama not placing his hand over his heart during the singing of the National Anthem, originally and perhaps even now claimed by some to be during the Pledge of Allegiance, plus news that he was no longer wearing an American flag lapel pin, was briefly covered. Today, I had a discussion where someone raised the issue and darned if I wasn't lost.Here's the deal ... Senator Obama was at Senator Tom Harkin's famous Steak Fry up in Iowa. Somebody was "singing" the National Anthem. Senator Obama, unlike apparently the other Democratic candidates, was just standing there rather than placing his hand over his heart. A YouTube video is here, with the Tuber claiming that he refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance for religious reasons. I find it classic that somehow emails and some "news" outlets make the leap that Senator Obama is not willing to say or even participate in the Pledge of Allegiance so I ought not to expect more from a dittohead Tuber I reckon. Here's a long video of Obama leading the Senate where he calls on a woman to pray and then (at around 1:40) leads the chamber in the Pledge for example. What was that Tuber claiming?
So let's return to the issue of how he acted during the National Anthem. Slate's Torie Bosch explains the relevant law on how the national anthem is to be handled. I was also fuzzy on the legal requirements ... and I did not come close to editing the Harvard Law Review as did Counselor Obama. Perhaps he was shaken by the singing? In some situations he has placed his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. As for the flag lapel pin issue, Senator Obama explains his decisions rather reasonably. While the following might indicate much that's wrong with both our media and electorate, coverage soon followed showing that several of the candidates wearing various or even no lapel pins.
Finally, the whole idea that Barack Obama is some type of radical Islamist, or even Muslim for that matter, is pure and unadulterated BS. Snopes, CNN, Politico, and even the Obama 08 site can help those who need enlightening. Or you can turn to Faux News, Debbie Schlussel, Reverend Moon's Insight Magazine, and I'm sure plenty of other right wing hacks if that's what you want to be told. There's perhaps even some "on the left" that are hoping to help Hillary or other candidates by these types of dirty tricks.
For the record, I'm not supporting Barack Obama yet. If he's the Democratic nominee I probably will. My concern is that so many people, even decent and smart folks, fall for this type of misdirection or dare I call it plain foolishness. The right has perfected the art of the whisper and initial labeling. Another post for another day. P/W
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