July 3, 2008
Flag Pin Just One Symbol Embraced By Obama
CBSNews.com Reports: The Illinois Senator Has Reached Far And Wide For Imagery To Define His Candidacy
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Obama Affirms Patriotism
At a speech in Missouri, Barack Obama shot back at a smear campaign intended to cast doubt on his loyalty to the United States. Dean Reynolds reports.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama wears a U.S. flag pin as he is introduced at a town hall-style meeting in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Tuesday, May 13, 2008. (AP)
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Obama Claims Nomination
Barack Obama secures the Democratic presidential nomination in historic race against Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Last fall, Barack Obama explained why he hadn't been wearing an American flag pin on his lapel.
"I won't wear that pin on my chest," the presumptive Democratic nominee said. "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 testimony to my patriotism."
What a difference a presidential campaign makes.
Obama, who suggested back then that the flag pin "became a substitute for I think true patriotism" after the Sept. 11 attacks, now regularly sports the patriotic symbol at campaign events.
He has given high profile speeches in symbolic locations, among them Unity, New Hampshire (on Democratic togetherness), Independence, Missouri (on patriotism) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - also known as the city of brotherly love (on racial division).
He has peppered many of those speeches with references to symbolic moments from the American past - mentioning, for example, Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" address during his formal announcement of his presidential run. (Obama gave the speech at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Lincoln gave that very address.)
He even briefly employed a campaign seal that looked a lot like the official presidential seal, the symbolism of which was hard to miss.
For a candidate who took an early stance against what he seemed to characterize as an empty symbolic gesture, the heavy use of symbolism in Obama's campaign has been particularly hard to ignore.
"All politicians, especially presidential candidates, traffic in symbols all the time," said Rutgers historian David Greenberg. "But Obama has given special care to his symbolic statements."
Image makers have long understood the importance of creating powerful symbolic associations for their candidates. A good photo of a politician gesturing confidently, a row of American flags behind him, can convey leadership ability and competence; a poor one, like the infamous shot of 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis in a tank, can have the opposite effect.
"We live in a visual society, and you want to make the picture tell a story," said political analyst Laura Schwartz. "There are certain things when you're running for political office that you do have to wear on your sleeve."
John F. Kennedy ushered in the modern period of symbolic image making, argues Montana State University historian Joan Hoff, former president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency.
"His family life was portrayed over and over," she said. "It was all touch football and family gatherings and the children, and it was all on television." (Obama's campaign has been receiving informal advice from Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen, and Obama's speeches have sometimes echoed Kennedy's.)
Ronald Reagan's image makers, who have been lauded for their success in creating strong symbolic associations with the candidate, strove to "make sure the pictures are powerful enough that people will connect him with patriotism and leadership and making the country look good again," according to Republican political consultant Ed Rollins, who was Reagan's political director.
Obama's decision to begin wearing the flag pin, despite his comments last fall, may have grown out of a pragmatic calculation that he needs to engender similar associations. (He even sports one in his first general election television ad.) Polls show that more Americans see presumptive GOP nominee John McCain as patriotic than see Obama as such.
"It's a little thing but it means a lot to certain people," said Rollins.
Image-making can be a delicate business: The Obama campaign's misguided attempt to roll out its too-presidential-looking campaign seal fed into the notion that the presumptive nominee arrogantly already believed the presidency to be his. Republicans quickly turned the now-retired seal into a joke, with the McCain campaign rolling out a video suggesting that Obama might next put his face on the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore.
Greenberg argues that Obama "tends to emphasize the symbolic over policy detail" in his campaign - a tendency reflected by his reliance (especially early on) on vague notions of "hope" and "change."
"Bill Clinton used a lot of symbolism too, but he also ran with policy as his centerpiece," said Greenberg. "[Former Clinton advisor] George Stephanopoulos argued that 'specificity was the character issue,' and they made that a focus. That's not really what Obama is doing. It doesn't mean he hasn't thought about policy, but he isn't making it the central focus of his campaign."
McCain has also been able to rely on symbolism, thanks in part to his military service and time as a prisoner of war, which has invested the presumptive GOP nominee with credibility on national security. (It's no coincidence that the McCain campaign has often featured McCain's time as a POW in campaign videos.)
The symbolic power of McCain's service goes a long way towards explaining why Obama surrogate Wesley Clark's comments on "Face The Nation" Sunday - he said "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President" - met with such strong resistance from Republicans this week.
But it is Obama - who, as the first African-American candidate with a legitimate chance at the presidency, is himself a powerful symbol - who has been most aggressive in pushing symbolic associations with his candidacy.
"Periodically, when things are going badly, you get charismatic rhetorical presidents like FDR, Kennedy, Reagan," said Hoff. "Obama is one of those, the type of candidate whose iconic representation is ultimately this message of hope and change. In that sense he's not unique."
By Brian Montopoli
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See all 954 CommentsWhere is the suprise there?!
"Periodically, when things are going badly, you get charismatic rhetorical presidents like FDR, Kennedy, Reagan," said Hoff. "Obama is one of those, the type of candidate whose iconic representation is ultimately this message of hope and change. In that sense he''s not unique."
TRUE, HE IS NOT UNIQUE, AND ONLY HIS COLOR MAKES HIM ''DIFFERANT'' .. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH TO THINK HE IS RIGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY. BEYOND (color or race,) HE IS THE MOST UNQUALIFIED CANIDATE EVER TO RUN.
lol...more nonsense and rabble rousing from the minority section of the crowd. I can''t wait until this man gets elected and actually does something useful so all you brainwashed sheep republicons can choke on your words.
(SORRY, Maxify- got the wrong guy)
Just good marketing by his campaign, no substance and voters will buy anything. We are the most brainwashed people in the world, you can sell us anything especially if US residents looking for hope.
Looking to vote for someone else even a dog will do since we only have 2 parties with enough money to buy the elections.
MCCAIN WILL WIN.
Obama isn''t going to face any backlash. The "left-wingers" will vote for him no matter what he says or does.
My fellow Americans there is going to be an "attempt" by Obama and supported through propaganda from our corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack press to give the impression that Obama is a "moderate".
What Obama is doing is "pandering to the center" BUT Obama is not "moving to the center".
Let''s be perfectly clear on this...................................Obama is a left-wing liberal and his "actual" voting record shows this very clearly.................
In the face of all of their coruption and failures, Republicans have to figure out a way to get Americans to continue to vote for them and against their own interests. To do this they will continue to use smear and fear on Obama rather than trying to sell the same old failed policies that have been devastating to working Americans.
Barack Hussein Obama
Barack Obama was born of Communist activists, mentored by a communist writer and activist, spent his college days hanging around radical activists, worked as a radical community organizer learning the radical tactics of Alinsky, kept contact with radicals through the years, attends a radical church, and today lends his political skill to the international goals of radical activists, and has radicals working on for his campaign.
For Ubama, I''m sure that''s right. nice to see that you folks in the LAMEstream media are no longer trying to hide the fact that you''re supporting this clown.
At least you''re being a little more honest and open about it.
Then yesterday another $40 million from Newt Gingrich pledged to "Swiftboat" Sen. Obama.
Now today we hear how the nations leading evangelical leaders have all come out as a group to endorse John McCain.
How the nations Catholics are split down the middle.
And, we see John McCain has finally saddled up by making the man Karl Rove calls the, "Bullet" to be his top campaign strategist.
Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my.....The gap does appear to be on the grow!!
With our country in trouble he will further divide the classes per say and bring about untested and inexperienced change similar to GW Bush in 2000. That is not the type of leader this country needs at the current time.
It''s a hammer and sickle pin.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, leader of the Anglican Church, this week called for unity in the congregation after conservative bishops on Sunday threatened to create a separate council of bishops. They are fed up with the church''s liberal leanings, especially its promotion of homosexual behavior as acceptable for the clergy.
This all started, you might recall, when the Episcopal Church made openly gay pastor Gene Robinson bishop of New Hampshire. The split this has created in the church is threatening to rip it apart (as Robinson knew it would).
Like Sen. Obama, Archbishop Williams has pushed for controversial change, and now is calling for unity. And like Sen. Obama, what he means by "unity" is that everyone falls in line with his agenda.
Ever notice that liberals have no use for unity when they''re pushing all that change, but as soon as they get what they want they discover the value of togetherness?
Then yesterday another $40 million from Newt Gingrich pledged to "Swiftboat" Sen. Obama.
Now today we hear how the nations leading evangelical leaders have all come out as a group to endorse John McCain.
All great news and I don''t even like McCain... McCain I know and I can live with him. But Obama no way.
I don''t want to have to pay reparations or see my 401K taxed to pay for it.
Logic 101.
Especially given the fact all this half-American has ever offered is a lot of "SMOKE and MIRRORS," errrrr I mean "HOPE and CHANGE."
In placing these rulings in the larger context of the court after two appointments by President Bush %u2014 Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both dedicated members of the conservative movement %u2014 it is important to note that the Guantanamo decision was 5 to 4. Anthony Kennedy, the court%u2019s swing justice, cast the deciding vote. In other cases, like the gun-control decision, the rulings might have been more sweeping and more damaging if the conservative bloc had not needed the moderate-conservative Justice Kennedy%u2019s vote to form a majority. One more conservative appointment would shift the balance to the far-right bloc.
If that happens, the court can be expected to push even further in a dangerous direction. It would most likely begin stripping away civil liberties, like the habeas rights vindicated in the Guantanamo case. The constitutional protection of women%u2019s reproductive rights could be eliminated. The court might well strike down laws that protect the environment, workers%u2019 rights and the rights of racial and religious minorities.
The court was teetering on the brink in this term. Voters should keep that firmly in mind when they go to the polls in November.
There was some undeniable good news. The court came through with a critically important decision in favor of the detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay. It ruled that they have habeas corpus rights: the right to challenge their confinement before a federal judge. The decision was the court%u2019s third rebuke to the Bush administration on Guantanamo and a major win for the Constitution and the rule of law.
In a second capital punishment case, the court ruled that the death penalty cannot be imposed for the rape of a child. Horrific as that crime is, the court wisely drew a clear line and said that capital punishment can only be imposed for crimes in which the victim%u2019s life was taken.
The court also issued several welcome rulings in favor of workers, including employees who charged that they were retaliated against for accusing their employers of discrimination. It was a reversal from last year, when the court issued a much-criticized ruling against a woman who was discriminated against in pay, baselessly deciding that she had filed her complaint too late.
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Corporations fared especially well in this term. The court reduced the punitive-damages award against Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill from $2.5 billion to about $500 million, a pittance for the energy company. In the process, the court declared that in maritime cases, punitive damages should not exceed the actual damages in a case. It is a rule that foils the purposes of punitive damages: to punish and to deter bad conduct.
In the term%u2019s most cold-hearted decision, the court endorsed Kentucky%u2019s use of lethal injection to execute prisoners. Despite evidence that the procedure that Kentucky uses can cause excruciating pain, the court ruled that it does not violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel-and-unusual punishment. It was a squandered chance to set rules requiring that executions be carried out as humanely as possible.
(cont)
Exactly! It''s about never having to answer tough questions (or any questions, for that matter.)
It''s about getting a pass from the LAMEstream media because of their ''white guilt syndrome''.
The Supreme Court abandoned its special role in protecting voting rights when it rejected a challenge to Indiana%u2019s harshly anti-democratic voter ID law. Critics warned that the law, which bars anyone without a government-issued photo ID from voting, would disenfranchise poor people, minorities and the elderly, all of whom disproportionately lack drivers%u2019 licenses. The critics were right. In the Indiana presidential primary, shortly after the ruling, about 12 nuns in their 80s and 90s were turned away at the polls for not having acceptable ID.
In another sharp break with its traditions, the court struck down parts of the District of Columbia%u2019s gun-control law. After seven decades of holding that the Second Amendment%u2019s right to bear arms is tied to raising a militia, the court reversed itself and ruled that it confers on individuals the right to keep guns in their homes for personal use. The decision will no doubt add significantly to the number of Americans killed by gun violence.
(cont)
Nazi Party pins where all the rage in 1930s Germany thanks to the Nazi NeoCons.
German Flag Pins are considered "bad taste" in Germany even today.
%u201CPatriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.%u201D
George Bernard Shaw
In some ways, the Supreme Court term that just ended seems muddled: disturbing, highly conservative rulings on subjects like voting rights and gun control, along with important defenses of basic liberties in other areas, including the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The key to understanding the term lies in the fragility of the court%u2019s center. Some of the most important decisions came on 5-to-4 votes %u2014 a stark reminder that the court is just one justice away from solidifying a far-right majority that would do great damage to the Constitution and the rights of ordinary Americans.
(cont)
Posted by melchg at 09:26 AM : Jul 03, 2008
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Ya mean in opposition to the Baby Slaughtering Houses the Democrats brought back 36 years ago. Through which now 40 million babies have been butchered in??
Nazi Party pins where all the rage in 1930s Germany thanks to the Nazi NeoCons.
German Flag Pins are considered "bad taste" in Germany even today.
%u201CPatriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.%u201D
George Bernard Shaw
Posted by ianlou
''When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.''
Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
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Posted by taotxzen at 09:41 AM : Jul 03, 2008
The flag and religion, two things LIBS love to hate.
Posted by maxify55
Perhaps you should get a flag pin and start Practicing your goose step.
Huffington Post | June 8, 2008 12:37 PM
Senator John McCain has aggressively tried to distance himself from Bush in an effort to avoid being tagged by Democrats as running for Bush''''s third term. However, McCain''''s chief surrogate, Senator Lindsey Graham, did not adhere to that message during his appearance on ABC''''s This Week, with George Stephanopoulos.
Stephanopoulos asked Sen. Graham if McCain''''s tax and healthcare policies are essentially "an extension or maybe an enhancement of the Bush policies." Sen. Graham answered, "Yeah, absolutely."
Fact Check:
According to Congressional Quarterly, Senator John McCain has voted with President Bush 100% of the time in 2008 and 95% of the time in 2007.
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Posted by RickNuber at 09:39 AM : Jul 03, 2008
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Hey NumbNumb, figure if the best you got to offer is your above, you have nothing. For I can assure you, this is what us real Americans have long since determined.
1972
to
1979 Accuracy in Media has an in-depth profile of a leftist who influenced Obama during his high school years. In an article entitled, "Obama''s Communist Mentor," Cliff Kincaid identifies a member of the Communist Party USA, who has been influential in Obama''s life and education
Neocons, always on the wrong side of history!
The thing that people need to realize is who will actually decide this election: the candidates, the corporate media or the voters? Just consider this, who will get the most time on the cooperate media; the actual candidates or the %u201Cspin doctors%u201D from each party that engage in %u201Cfact-free accusations%u201D and the %u201Che said, she said%u201D crossfire style debates?
Who is going to fact check any of these statements that these paid pundits make, the cooperate media? Pundits will dominate the election coverage spewing any statement, however inaccurate and never be called on it.
Here%u2019s an example of fact versus %u201Cspin fiction%u201D:
John McCain, who has voted with President Bush 95% of the time in 2007 and 100% of the time in 2008 is being spun as a %u2018bipartisan%u2019 who reaches across the aisle and Barack Obama is being cast as %u2018the Most Liberal Member of the Senate%u2019 who has only the 40th most liberal voting record.
This is another piece of KRAP propaganda! The Supreme Court upheld the rights of Americans as guaranteed in the Constitution!!! When did it all of a sudden become an idea that the Constitution should be interpreted according to some kind of SOCIAL ISM''S!!!
It''s there in black and white! You cannot BAN fire arms!!!
Your American flag lapel pins
ARE
MADE IN CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by ianlou at 09:44 AM : Jul 03, 2008
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My, my, just one more example of the ever so many demonstrations I''ve seen on these boards today showing us how the hyphen the vast left wing majority of these hyphenated-Americans prefer to wear is their, "Un-" hyphen.
This is one reason he is now wearing the American Flag he is trying to run and I mean run from his Muslim roots and beliefs.
1972
to
1979 Accuracy in Media has an in-depth profile of a leftist who influenced Obama during his high school years. In an article entitled, "Obama''''s Communist Mentor," Cliff Kincaid identifies a member of the Communist Party USA, who has been influential in Obama''''s life and education
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Posted by Barocalto at 09:46 AM : Jul 03, 2008
EXACTLY!!!
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