WATERLOO, Iowa — "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for "true patriotism" since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Asked about it Wednesday in an interview with KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Illinois senator said he stopped wearing the pin shortly after the attacks and instead hoped to show his patriotism by explaining his ideas to citizens.
"The truth is that right after 9/11 I had a pin," Obama said. "Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.
"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."
"In other words," he continued, "wearing the pin during peacetime meant I was patriotic, but taking it off during wartime reflects my feelings of not wishing to seem judgmental towards our avowed enemies. We are bombing them, strafing them, and waterboarding them, so why add insult to injury? And to anyone that says well, sure, the enemy is Islam and my name is Islamic I say true colors don't run and just like the McDonalds worker who takes the nametag off at the end of the shift I feel the same way. Not that my shift is ended or will end anytime soon, but why should it be necessary to advertise that I'm an American? Just because my name sounds un-American? So how is wearing a pin going to change all that? Will Hillary stop kicking butt and drag in LESS money because I stick on a pin? Ha, guarantee my black ass that and I'll throw on a walking billboard that says Eat at Joe's. Is this thing on..."
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