Remember that bit of wingnut hysteria? That Obama was somehow not patriotic because he didn't see the point of claiming to be patriotic via his choice of lapel wear.
Well today, inadvertently, a story on the front page of the New York Times drove a stake through the twitching corpse of that idea...
It only took one sentence:
Mr. Kerik, wearing a dark blue suit with an American flag pin on the lapel, pleaded not guilty at the federal courthouse in White Plains and then walked down the steps to address a horde of news cameras and reporters.
(story link)
On the off chance that this is being read by someone who is outraged by the lack of a piece of painted metal on Obama's suit jacket, let me explain. If a person of such dubious ethical standing (to put it mildly) as Bernard Kerik wears a flag pin without any shame even as he's being indicted by federal prosecutors, wearing said pin conveys absolutely no information about the morals of the wearer. At best, such a pin means that the wearer wants other people to think that the wearer is patriotic; it says nothing about the actual patriotism of the wearer. Actual patriotism is demonstrated through actions, not from a few dollars worth of adornment.
So.
If that stupid controversy ever rises, zombie-like, from the stupid-scandal graveyard, remember that Bernie Kerik chose to wear a flag pin to his indictment.
-dms