Here’s the United States flag pin that Barack Obama declined to wear after he became a presidential candidate (or one very similar to it). By doing this, he has earned the disapprobation of superpatriots and other wise folk such as the smiling yet serious William Kristol. How in the world this is a news story is mystery to me, and how in the world it deserves the column inches The New York Times gave it yesterday I can only refer to the sagacity of those editors who chose to run the really serious story about John McCain and Vicki Iseman.

And here’s the AP photo of B. Hussein Obama, Islamofascist candidate for the democratic nomination, dressed up in his native costume, as circulated via the Drudge Report. I guess this level of sleaze does credit to a country of fans that tuned in nightly for the latest Clinton/Lewinsky update and are still perhaps titillated by the machinations of Paula Jones, and Gennifer Flowers (added Tuesday morning).

Drudge has claimed that the Clinton campaign circulated the photo, hoping (one supposes) to score some points with the redneck contingent in Texas and Ohio. The Clinton campaign has denied any complicity. Plouffe has posted a stern rant. Obama has stayed cool (more or less).

What the hell — it’s Monday!

Of course, we’ve always had sleaze going back to the early days of the republic. Think about the careers of Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Sleaze is the underside of democracy. To hate it is perhaps to embrace an elitism that makes against the very empathy my guy is trying his best to stir up amongst us. So I won’t hate it. I won’t . . .