FLAG ON THE LAPEL, A NO-ISSUE COMMENT

Flag on the lapel... the quality of debate in American political punditry has reached the near absurd, when months before any primary vote, nationally syndicated columnists and commentators on one of the most serious shows in political analysis attempt to assess whether or not a candidate is 'ready' based on the unserious question about wearing a flag on his suit lapel.

In examining the question of a 'flap' involving Senator Barack Obama and a television interview in Iowa, commentators on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopolous discussed whether the senator's response was adequately politicized. It was actually suggested that he was 'not ready' for the national stage because he did not craft a glitzy lie when asked about taking off the lapel flag he had added after 9/11.

Interestingly, his response was good political salesmanship: he detailed his belief that it was more patriotic to talk about the ideas he had for the nation than to cover up an unimaginative posture with a simple visual effect. He answered that for him the flag on the lapel was a kind of deceit at precisely a time when he felt it was tasteless to engage in such showmanship.