I don't think its sinister or leftist, as much as it's Obama trying to strike a delicate balance with those symbols.

His core supporters-including his wife and former minister-are from the "blame America first" crowd, the people who view our flag as "jingoistic" or "racist." So he doesn't want to risk offending them by decking himself out in the traditional symbols of patriotism. At the same time, he needed to come up with symbols that would look, at a quick glance, like something the mainstream would expect from a candidate.

Unfortunately for him, his latest attempts have been roundly ridiculed, so now he's thrown them, along with so many other things, under the bus.