Obama to Speak on Patriotism

With Independence Day four days away, Barack Obama will deliver a speech on patriotism in Independence, Mo. today.

Obama will “discuss what patriotism means to him and what it requires of all Americans who loves this country and want to see it do better,” the campaign announced in a press release this morning.

The Democrat’s critics have sought to make patriotism an issue in the campaign, calling attention to Obama’s decision not to wear an American-flag pin, as most U.S. senators do. Rumors of Obama as an anti-patriot have spread on the Internet, as forwarded e-mails alleged that he refused to hold his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance. That allegation was false, as the emails used a photo of Obama taken during the national anthem, not the pledge of allegiance, at an Iowa rally sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

Obama has defended himself from such attacks, calling the flag pin a “manufactured issue” in ABC’s Democratic primary debate and telling CNN that rumors about the pledge of allegiance and his purported Muslim faith are “scurrilous stuff.”