From just the last few days of this topic:

 Originally Posted By: whomod, 2-26-08, 2:50 AM
 Originally Posted By: the G-man
Obama May Face Grilling on Patriotism
[list]Sen. Barack Obama's refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism.

Now Obama's wife, Michelle, has drawn their ire, too, for saying recently that she's really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.

Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination, especially as he runs against Vietnam war hero Sen. John McCain.

"The reason it hasn't been an issue so far is that we're still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary," said Republican consultant Roger Stone. "Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd."





During Friday night’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Republican Congressman Jack Kingston took to the airwaves to echo the right wing talking points of Obama being “not patriotic enough”. One of the memes that Kingston brought up was about Obama not wearing his lapel pin. Let’s take a look at people not wearing their lapel pin:



How interesting. That looks like Rep. Jack Kingston talking about Obama not wearing his lapel pin. What’s missing? Jack Kingston’s lapel pin.

So does this make Kingston unpatriotic, a hypocrite or just plain stupid.

Of course this isn’t the first time Kingston played a game of “open mouth, insert foot”. A little over a year ago, Kingston said if families couldn’t survive on the old minimum wage then they needed to work longer hours. Just a month before that he was crying that working a 5 day work week in Congress would “take away from families“. I guess his family is more important than yours or mine.

I myself didn’t know lapel pins were so important to national security. Glenn Greenwald explains how easy it was for Obama to handle this nonsense:

 Quote:
Far more notable is Barack Obama’s response to these depressingly familiar attacks. In response, he’s not scurrying around slapping flags all over himself or belting out the National Anthem, nor is he apologizing for not wearing lapels, nor is he defensively trying to prove that — just like his Republican accusers — he, too, is a patriot, honestly. He’s not on the defensive at all. Instead, he’s swatting away these slurs with the dismissive contempt they deserve, and then eagerly and aggressively engaging the debate on offense because he’s confident, rather than insecure, about his position



“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.”


Never mind the fact that John McCain often doesn't wear a flag lapel pin either. But that's the far right for you, always up in arms over proper reverence towards symbols rather than substantive things like Constitutional and international law.








 Originally Posted By: whomod, 2-27-08, 4:13PM
...speaking of which... It seems the gOP is worried about being labeled bigots and did polling to gauge how slimy is TOO slimy. Even for them.

It never struck me as especially complicated. Once there was a clear Democratic presidential nominee, the Republican National Committee would label him or her weak on terror, liberal (on everything), and desperate to raise your taxes. Throw in some references to 9/11, a few pictures of menacing-looking Middle Easterners, and a dash of immigrant bashing, and voila!

But it appears the RNC is hesitating, not because they’re unsure how to attack, but rather, because they want to prefer to avoid being labeled bigots.

 Quote:
Top Republican strategists are working on plans to protect the GOP from charges of racism or sexism in the general election, as they prepare for a presidential campaign against the first ever African-American or female Democratic nominee.

The Republican National Committee has commissioned polling and focus groups to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved. The secretive effort underscores the enormous risk senior GOP operatives see for a party often criticized for its insensitivity to minorities in campaigns dating back to the 1960s.


Look, RNC officials know the difference between a clean attack and a dirty one. They recognize when an attack is driven by race-based politics, and when one is substantive and above-board. The only reason they would need a focus group to help them out on this is if they planned to walk right up to the decency line, and wanted to know how far they could go without crossing it.

And that's part of the beauty of Obama. Not only is he inspiring the nation but the GOP are unsure how to slime him. They know perfectly well how to slime the Clinton's. Hell, they've been doing it for years! It seems for now all they have to play with is peoples fear and ignorance about Obama's religion and yeah, it's payed divedends for them with their ignorant misinformed base, weaned on a diet of FOX News and Limbaugh.



Again, you habitually slander the Republicans' intentions, when they haven't even launched any attacks on Obama as you describe them, while simultaneously ignoring that precisely the kind of attacks you describe *ARE ALREADY BEING LAUNCHED* by the Hillary Clinton campaign (i.e., the Clinton Attack Machine).

Slander, deceit, and divisive fear tactics are the traditional hallmark of Democrats, and I haven't seen that Obama has put himself above those tactics, either against Hillary, or in his attacks the last few days on McCain.
The Hillary Clinton campaign publicized the islamic-dressed Osama photo.
Bill Clinton said that blacks are voting their skin color for Obama, rather than on the merits of qualification for president. Even the liberal media has criticized the Clintons for race-baiting.
Hillary Clinton pulled Rezko's 17-year relationship and ties to Obama out, and his representing a "slumlord".
And on and on. Not the Republicans.

i.e., you're a lying partisan sack of shit.