Presidential candidate Barrack Obama recently stopped wearing an American flag pin on his lapel. Questioned about the absent pin, Obama replied that such flare had "become a substitute for true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security." This fair point notwithstanding, a tempest in a teapot ensued, culminating in this fine summation of the issue from Sean Hannity: "Why do we wear pins? Because our country is under attack!"

As my wife remarked, all this would make for an excellent Onion article. Mad-cap political humor at its finest. But also sad. On Veterans Day weekend, we can do better than this.