I’ve received four emails asking precisely this question. The answer: I don’t know it for sure. I can’t know that, any more than I can know for sure that John McCain or Hillary Clinton doesn’t hate America. The motivations and dispositions of a man’s heart are very difficult for any other man to judge accurately.
But the charge of hatred for one’s country is serious enough that it cannot be thrown around lightly. For that reason alone, one deserves the benefit of the doubt — innocence until absolute proof of guilt arises. Certainly, disagreement on America’s policies or failure to wear an American flag pin (I hate pins) is not a sign of hatred for America. Anyone who would say “God Damn America” probably fits the description, but not necessarily those with poor enough judgment to make such a person a guiding light in one’s spiritual life.
At the very least, I feel justified in saying that the grounds for questioning Obama’s patriotism are insufficient. Give him the benefit of the doubt. His real problem is a lack of judgment, not only with respect to Wright but also the sweetheart land deal (“boneheaded,” in his own words), his dishonesty over NAFTA, and his far-left views on just about everything. These provide abundant evidence that he is not suited for the presidency.