Barack Obama says we shouldn't worry about things like whether or not he wears an American flag pin on his lapel or puts his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. He says issues like that don't put food on the plates of hungry children. But why shouldn't we think about issues like this? We're electing the President of the United States - the most powerful and important job in the world. With what we already know about him he couldn't get hired for a mid-level management position at a Fortune 500 company. They would scrutinize him much more than he thinks we should.

Why should a candidate for President get less scrutiny from the voters than he would get from a Fortune 500 company? We need to know as much about this person as possible. Obama is largely unknown to most Americans. Hillary and McCain have been in the public spotlight for decades, so we feel we "know" them. But Obama has burst onto the scene within just the last couple of years and suddenly he's a candidate for president. The field has narrowed down to three people and he is one of three people who may be the next president. He's likely to be one of two soon.

For voters to wonder what it means that he holds his clasped hands down by his side during the singing of the National Anthem while three other Democrats all put their hand on their hearts, is not unimportant at all. Presidential candidates know how important this kind of symbolism is and they don't do things like this without giving thought to the signal they want to send.  For voters struggling to come to terms with who this man is, these are legitimate questions.

If the candidate had been more open and honest with voters about who he was, then attention to these types of details may not be important. But he was not honest or open with us about the fact that he went to a black racist church for 20 years. He wasn't honest with us about the fact that his pastor of 20 years thinks America is one of the greatest purveyors of evil in the world. He didn't tell us that his wife had "never in her adult life" felt pride for America. With all these close relations he has with people who apparently hold America in very low regard, it is legitimate to ask why this man doesn't put his hand over his heart (a sign of respect for the flag) when the Pledge of Allegiance is recited.