Obama and McCain: Making an issue of patriotism

last updated 8 January 2015

What happened

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama proposed an expanded national service plan Wednesday on a campaign swing focused on confronting critics who have questioned his partiotism. (Los Angeles Times) John McCain, who this week deflected disparaging comments about his war record, has also encouraged Americans to enter public service. (NPR.org)

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You know things have gotten out of hand when people start mocking McCain’s record of service, said Leonard Pitts in The Miami Herald. But that’s exactly what John Aravosis, who blogs on Americablog.com, did when he accused McCain for “disloyalty” because his captors forced him to read a propaganda statement. There’s something “viscerally wrong” about demeaning somebody’s sacrifice and service for political gain.

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