With Barack Obama nearing the nomination, Karl Rove is starting to show his hand and how he will try to play it. It's really no surprise: he'll try to make the tired case that Obama is not a true patriot. Here's an exchange between Karl Rove and the not un-enabling Alan Colmes on whatever Trash The Democrats show it was they appeared on yesterday. Rove will try to twist anything to his advantage, even when the logic just isn't there. Maybe enough dumb people will fall for it, and maybe they won't:
Rove: "Look, with all due respect, he is a very left-wing Democrat. He came out of a very radical background in organizing. His record in the Senate is the most liberal, according to the 'National Journal.' He has been a conventional far-left Democrat. And we ought to recognize that. As a result, he has these associations and these people he has been comfortable being with who are not in mainstream America. Look, after 9/11, when he said true patriotism did not consist of wearing a lapel pin - - an American flag lapel pin on your lapel, but instead speaking out on the issues, he was basically, with the back of his hand, being very dismissive to millions of Americans who thought it was a patriotic act to put a flag pin on their lapel."
Colmes: "Does he lack patriotism because he does not wear a lapel pin? Is he basically saying, patriotism isn't about a pin? That is his point of view."
Rove: "Alan, I didn't say that. What he said was that people -- he was implicating that people who did wear a flag on the lapel were not true patriots. My point is not -- in America, you get to decide whether you want to wear a flag lapel pin or not. What he did though was say, it was true patriotism to speak out on the issue, not to wear a flag lapel pen. He was the one questioning the patriotism of people with flags on their lapels."
Colmes: "I didn't get that from what he said. What I got --"
Rove: "Read the statement carefully. He said, true patriotism -- quote, true patriotism consisted of speaking out on the issues, not wearing a flag lapel pin."
Colmes: "He wasn't questioning people who wore it. He was questioning the war."
Rove: "No, he was questioning the patriotism of those who did put a flag on their lapel. Admit it. I'm not questioning his patriotism. But he certainly questioned the patriotism of millions of people who felt the simple gesture of putting the flag on their lapel was a patriotic act, and it was."
Of course, we all know what Obama meant: there are hundreds of ways to show your patriotism. If you want to do it by wearing a flag pin, that's great. But it shouldn't be mistaken for the only way you can do this. If you want to do it by speaking out on important issues that you care about, that's just as legitimate a patriotic display. Just because you aren't draped in the flag like Kid Rock at an NFL halftime show doesn't mean you're not devoted to what that flag is supposed to stand for.
While we're on the subject of Rove, I've always wondered something about him. Tell me the vibe you get on this. When you see MC Rove walking around or appearing on talk shows, there's something curiously missing: Pictures of his family. It disturbs me a little bit that Rove doesn't wear a photo of his family members. I'm not questioning his devotion to them, but I wonder what he is ashamed of. Maybe he doesn't love them as much as he could. Is it too much to ask to wear a little photo? I understand that it's his choice. It's a free country, and goodness knows Karl Rove has contributed all he can to keeping us united and free. But what is it that bothers him about his own family? By not wearing photos of them, what he's underhandedly saying is that those who do wear photos of their own families don't get it. They're not truly devoted to their families. And it's just not fitting of someone who has held public office to take a shot at his fellow Americans like that. That's all. It just makes you stop and think.
Again, it's a free country, and you can certainly choose to disrespect your own family if you want to. That's part of what makes this country great. But hey, the rest of the country has the freedom to call you on it. They have the freedom to apply a little pressure.