Is Obama Unpatriotic? Debunking an Urban Legend
By Eric L. Hinton
February 01, 2008
It doesn't take much to derail a presidential bid in the early stages of a campaign. That's especially the case when you're a Black man running for president, your name is Barack Obama and you're running against the prohibitive favorite, Sen. Hillary Clinton. In the early days of his campaign, Obama-bashers were looking for any evidence that Obama was a dangerous Muslim hiding anti-American tendencies.
Click play below to watch video footage of the event from ABCNews.com.
Those bashers rejoiced when they got "proof" in the form of a photograph taken on Sept. 16, 2007. The photo was taken at an annual steak fry in Iowa where Obama was photographed along with Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson at the home of Sen. Tom Harkin. In the photograph, which later was viewable on Time.com, Clinton and Richardson are seen standing with their hands over their hearts while Obama has his hands clasped down. All three are standing in front of a huge American flag.
It didn't take long for a massive e-mail to make its way through the Internet claiming Obama refused to place his hand over his heart, reports WashingtonPost.com. "He refused to not only put his hand on his heart during the pledge of allegiance, but refused to say the pledge … how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief?" read the e-mail.
In truth, the event in question wasn't a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance--rather, the participants were standing for the national anthem. The incident warranted so much attention that Obama felt inclined to post his own web site that "My grandfather taught me how to say the Pledge of Allegiance when I was two. During the Pledge of Allegiance you put your hand over your heart. During the national anthem you sing."
But once the photo was circulated, damage was done. Some news organizations, most notably FOX News, covered the event as if Obama had been caught selling top-secret information to South Korea.
When asked if Obama ever placed his hand over his heart while listening to the national anthem, Obama's National Press Secretary Bill Burton replied, "Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn't. In no way was he making any sort of political statement and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous," according to Obama's web site.
Obama also came under fire when some news organizations, FOX News among them, reported that he refused to wear an American flag pin on his lapel. To this, Obama responded, "I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those ones who served. After a while you start noticing people wearing a lapel pin, but not acting very patriotic, not voting to provide veterans with the resources that they need."
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