Michael Tomasky,
This is such an idiotic, parochial issue, it well deserves to die a natural death.
So why revive it?
Only in America, or in a place like Germany in the 1930s, would flag pins count for anything.
America's chief Republicans - Bush, Cheney - in fact do wear them, but what else would you expect of those commit war crimes?
The American flag is not just a national emblem.
It literally has become an imperial totem, a form of war paint, a symbol of party correctness a la 1984, full of unpleasant associations for many, many in the world.
I don't think most Americans even understand this.
Obama's independence of mind in this is just one more demonstration of the man's ethical and intellectual superiority. He's head and shoulders above every major figure in Washington, and that's just why the world needs him.
Of course, Hillary doesn't wear one - although it is a mainly male phenomenon in America, only pointing to its war-like connotations - but she makes up for it by talking and behaving like an Appalachian Throwback.
