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You may recall that Barack Obama was criticized by some for not wearing a flag pin on his lapel. (He was also accused of not holding his hand over his chest during the national anthem. As it turns out, it’s not customary to hold your hand over your heart for the national anthem. It is, however, customary to do so for the Pledge of Allegiance. Two totally different things.)

As for the flag pin (non)scandal, it turns out that not every candidate wears them all the time. Nor do most elected officials wear them regularly. In fact on the night of Obama’s grilling by the debate moderators, none of the other candidates nor the moderators were wearing the flag pin. Which misses the point anyway, which is: When did it become a requirement for our elected officials to wear a flag pin?

The fact of the matter is that this is a smear campaign to paint Obama as the scary, America-hating Muslim. And it’s sickening. Roland Martin has a fantastic commentary on the issue over at CNN. A must read!

But once you finish listening to these high-minded bloviators — and yes, that includes the voters who have bought into this nonsensical issue — ask yourself: Does it really have anything to do with anything?

I’ve watched this debate reach the levels of absurdity this year because journalists and commentators have raised the question to Sen. Barack Obama, “Why don’t you wear a flag lapel pin?”

I really got a kick out of that one during the ABC debate last month because not one person on stage — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Obama, along with moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos — bothered to accessorize their attire with a flag lapel pin.

Sen. John McCain has been traveling the globe as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and this former Navy pilot often doesn’t wear a flag lapel pin.