WATERLOO, Iowa, Oct. 4, 2007

No U.S. Flag Pin For Obama

Democrat Says He Expresses Patriotism On Campaign Trail Through Ideas

  • Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., delivers a foreign policy speech on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007. At this event and others, he has been seen without the American flag lapel pin that many politicians have worn since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

    Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., delivers a foreign policy speech on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007. At this event and others, he has been seen without the American flag lapel pin that many politicians have worn since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  (AP)

  • Video Obama: 'I Will End This War"

    "CBS News RAW": In an address at Chicago's DePaul University, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., pledged to end the Iraq war, proposing a staggered troop withdrawal to culminate "within sixteen months."

(AP)  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has stopped wearing the American flag lapel pin that has become a common symbol of patriotism since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Asked about the decision Wednesday in an interview with KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Illinois senator said he hoped to show his patriotism by explaining his ideas to citizens.

“I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest,” he said in the interview. “Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism.”

The television interview didn't include an explanation for his decision or when he stopped wearing such a pin.

Campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor said Thursday that Obama didn't plan to say more about his decision.

“I think he explained it pretty well,” Vietor said.

Obama was campaigning in Iowa Thursday, the second day of a four-day trip to the early voting state.

© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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by marccole October 6, 2007 12:36 AM EDT
Is this a little like Gold Hat in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre:
"Badges!?... We don''t need no... stinking badges!!"
Reply to this comment
by vet999999 October 5, 2007 7:11 PM EDT
Well, well. Now we really get to the meat of qualifications for president. This should seal the deal.
Reply to this comment
by signof4 October 5, 2007 6:35 PM EDT
Does he recommend we follow his lead?
Posted by bizzzz at 02:34 PM : Oct 05, 2007

Maybe he''s taking after Kerry......just throw it over the fence.
Reply to this comment
by signof4 October 5, 2007 6:33 PM EDT
I used to think Ubama had a VP shot.....but he''s so f**king stupid that no one will ask him to run with them....that is, no one who wants to win.

Go back to Ill and lead them in to socialism. Just leave the rest of us alone.
Reply to this comment
by bizzzz-2009 October 5, 2007 5:34 PM EDT
Let me get this straight, this guy is running for the President of the United States??? IT IS HIS RESPONSILIBITY AS OUR COUNTRY''S LEADER TO NOT ONLY EXPRESS HIS PATRIOTISM, BUT TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO BE PATRIOTIC AS WELL. Our flag is a symbol usaed to express, and hopefully spread patriotism. IS THIS GUY A F$CKING IDIOT?
The problem is that stupid people in the country don''t understand the function of the flag, it''s history, or how many people have died to preserve the country it symbolizes.
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS HAVE DIED IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE AND THE FLAG IS SYMBOLIC OF OUR FREEDOMS, OF OUR HISTORY AND OF OUR STUGGLES.

OBAMA IS SETTING AS PI$$ POOR EXAMPLE AS A LEADER!!!
Does he have any American flags in his office or in his home or did he throw those out too. Does he recommend we follow his lead?
Reply to this comment
by sftodd October 5, 2007 4:33 PM EDT
. . . now he won''''t even recognize the U.S. flag?
Posted by Hwy71So at 09:38 AM : Oct 05, 2007

Hwy71So -- it''s too bad there are so many brain-dead dimwits in this country like you who think that wearing an American flag on your lapel makes you patriotic. When are you fools going to wake up and smell the coffee? Any hypocrite can wear the flag, as the current Republican party has so ably demonstrated while it tramples all over the U.S. Constitution.
Reply to this comment
by sftodd October 5, 2007 4:33 PM EDT
. . . now he won''''t even recognize the U.S. flag?
Posted by Hwy71So at 09:38 AM : Oct 05, 2007

Hwy71So -- it''s too bad there are so many brain-dead dimwits in this country like you who think that wearing an American flag on your lapel makes you patriotic. When are you fools going to wake up and smell the coffee? Any hypocrite can wear the flag, as the current Republican party has so ably demonstrated while it tramples all over the U.S. Constitution.
Reply to this comment
by hwy71so October 5, 2007 12:38 PM EDT
That right there is one ANTI-American man. He should be ejected from this country! He''s lying through his teeth saying his patriotism is in his "ideas". What patriotism? That punk has ZERO. He''s been badmouthing the troops since they left for Iraq, now he won''t even recognize the U.S. flag?

You are going to lose this thing miserably Mr. Obama.

Good riddance.
Reply to this comment
by sftodd October 4, 2007 8:02 PM EDT
Amen -- I''m so sick of sleazey republicans putting on that pin and wrapping themselves in the flag just before they turn around to ____ us. It''s a sort of like Larry Craig denying he is gay while looking for *** in the men''s room. Not totally the same, but you get the idea.
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