I don’t mind beating up on him over the flag lapel pin because (a) it’s an issue entirely of his own making and (b) his motives in wearing and not wearing it are so cynical that he deserves some grief. But I hate the fact that he takes flak about the pledge for having once absentmindedly neglected to put his hand over his heart. I’ve done that too, I’m sure, so add me to the “disloyal” category. The worst part of this may be how stupid it is: Even if you think his feeling for America is such that he might blanch intuitively at saying the words (which I don’t), surely he’s willing and able to feign a smile and force himself through it in the name of getting elected. So what does it prove? Nothing. But the tool who showed up today at his town hall needed to see it and Obama couldn’t risk getting indignant. All things considered, he played it pretty well.