Obama to Address Patriotism Today
(CHICAGO) Barack Obama kicks off the 4th of July week with a speech on patriotism today, as he continues to reach out to voters who may not be familiar with his life story. The issue of patriotism was a major source of controversy during the primary, and has fueled internet rumors that have repeatedly distorted Obama's biography.
Obama came under fire as early as last September for not holding his hand over his heart while singing the Star Spangled Banner at the Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa. He was also criticized for not wearing label flag pin, which he now wears at almost every campaign stop.
Both Barack and Michelle Obama have been tackling rumors about their patriotism since the primary.
Just last week, Obama wrote an essay in Time Magazine on what patriotism means to him. In the essay, titled "A Faith in Simple Dreams", Obama wrote, "As a young man of mixed race, without a firm anchor in any community, without even a father's steadying hand, this essential American ideal, that our destinies are not written before we are born, has defined my life. And it is the source of my profound love for this country: because with a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya, I know that stories like mine could only happen in America."
John McCain wrote an essay on patriotism for the same issue of Time.