Liar Liar Pants on Fire
As Allahpundit puts it, the stupid flag pin issue turns stupider yet again. You see, a while back Barack Obama said that wearing a flag pin had become a substitute for true patriotism. He defined true patriotism as: “speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.”
Bloggers then reported about it, some blasting him for insulting those who wear flag pins. Now, personally I don’t think that he tried to insult those who do choose to wear a flag pin, but he did express himself a bit unlucky there, to say the least. You could most certainly make the case that what he said was insulting to those who wear flag pins (to show their love for their country).
Anyway, but those bloggers simply reported what he said. Now, Obama calls them liars. He now says: “And somebody said ‘Why don’t you wear a flag pin?’ I said, well, sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I said, although I will say that sometimes I notice that they’re people who wear flag pins but they don’t always act patriotic. And I was specifically referring to politicians, not individuals who wear flag pins, but politicians who you see wearing flag pins and then vote against funding for veterans, saying we can’t afford it.”
Charles Johnson explains:
Obama’s two radically different versions of his reasons for not wearing the pin are there for you to read. Here’s our post about it at the time. You decide who’s telling the truth.
The fact of the matter is that Obama tries to spin his words, whereas bloggers who oppose him interpret his words in the most negative way possible. Negative interpretation, yes. Lying? No. In fact, Obama’s changing his reason so much, that the “liar” charge should be turned against him.
What’s even more stupid is that he’s keeping this issue alive. It’s a non-issue.
Only if you were pre-offended by Obama and simply looking for a rationalization. It’s as if I heard someone saying "I’m a Christian because I love Jesus and his message of love" and concluded that the person was implying that anyone who wasn’t Christian believes in a message of hate.
I find it surprising and amusing that people who oppose Obama feel that they have to go after issues this embarrassingly stupid, instead of actually trying to confront Obama on policy positions. Personally, I find it insulting that that’s the opinion those strategists have of my intelligence, but I find it more worrisome that that kind of idiotic pablum works on a lot of people.
Claudia, I don’t want to make too much over the flag pin issue itself, but your analogy to atheists taking offense at Christian attitudes actually proves the opposite point than the one you are making IMO. Point of fact, a lot of atheists/agnostics DO interpret Christian beliefs that way (I think I’ve even seen some comments like that from you.) And they have some reason to feel that way, because some Christians do express their opinions of atheists being immoral.
So any Christian who wanted to avoid being divisive like that would make a point of explaining that he/she didn’t think that nonbelievers were bad people. That’s where Obama erred in his initial explanation of why he wasn’t wearing a flag pin; he expressed a view that was in solidarity with those who scorn pin wearers, instead of just acting as though it was no big deal. He could have chosen his words much differently to say that he knew that a lot of people wore pins to express true patriotism, but that he didn’t think the symbol itself proved anything one way or another. Instead he said that he had deliberately chosen to take it off, as though not wearing the pin was a conscious choice of a different kind of symbolism that was quite important to him.
In your analogy, this would be like an atheist stating that he couldn’t possibly agree with Christians because they are all deluded and practice a false morality- and then turning around later and acting like he/she couldn’t understand why any Christians took offense at that.