Kingston on Obama (Video) (Updated)

It pains me to put a scumbag like David Frum on my blog, but this video clip of Jack Kingston slandering Barack Obama for not saying the pledge of allegiance is an appalling moment in our politics. This is a concious attempt by the GOP to campaign by character assassination. That's all they've got.

It's not until about 7:55. "His hands were deliberately down." Ok, Jack. Whatever.



UPDATE: Oh my. There's obviously a memo going around. This morning the AP reports, "Conservatives attack Obama on patriotism." And the AP is obviously willing to join the cause:

"The reason it hasn't been an issue so far is that we're still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary," said Republican consultant Roger Stone. "Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd."

Opponents of Sen. John Kerry proved in the 2004 election that voters are sensitive to suggestions that a candidate is not sufficiently patriotic. The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign was torpedoed by critics of his Vietnam War record called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, even though he won multiple military honors and was lauded by his superiors.

The Swift Boat campaign started as a relatively small television ad buy that exploded into an issue that dogged Kerry for months. The Massachusetts senator has conceded since losing to President Bush that the campaign and his lackluster response to unsubstantiated allegations he considered unworthy of a reaction likely cost him the election. And the term even became part of the campaign lexicon — swift boating.

Obama already is the subject of a shadowy smear campaign based on the Internet that falsely suggests he's a Muslim intent on destroying the United States. Obama is a Christian and has been fighting the e-mail hoax, which also claims he doesn't put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance, and he's been trying to correct the misinformation.