On America Live on Friday (9/21/12), Megyn Kelly, Mike Gallagher, and Alan Colmes debated “new backlash” over Obama-campaign merchandise that uses the campaign logo as the “stars” in American flag-themed posters. 

Gallagher, who has written a book about the 50 things liberals love to hate, said, “I wish the 51^st thing I wrote in my book would be the American flag… If you’ve got regulations against the American flag touching the ground, imagine the way veterans are feeling, those who have served under that flag, to have the Obama campaign turn it into a cheap campaign prop.” He called this an example “of how tone deaf liberal Democrats can be over issues like this. It’s extraordinary the mainstream media is largely silent on this. I only hope and pray Governor Romney points this out to millions of angry Americans over this defiling of our treasured American flag.”

Colmes shot back, “The Supreme Court says – and you actually can burn the flag… This is not the first campaign to have done this. The last one to do it was a Republican president named Abraham Lincoln who in 1860 did the very same thing, put his picture on the American flag. Now, the GOP loves to call itself the party of Lincoln, I want you to attack Abraham Lincoln for having done the same thing.”

Gallagher, of course, was not to be deterred from his attack on Obama. “He’s also a guy who had an American flag pin controversy, he didn’t want to wear the American flag pin after 9/11 as Americans were wearing flag pins… Liberals love to hate the flag. The fact is, this President doesn’t seem to embrace the symbols that most Americans revere.”

Host Kelly was full of her own critical comments about Obama. She said,  “You go online, a lot of folks have said that the smearing of the red stripes is eerily reminiscent of a terrible picture we’ve all seen over the last few day and a half, which is the bloody handprints outside of our Libyan consulate. They’re split-screening this online. It’s really, they’ve gone too close.”

Colmes said, “ I think the Republicans have a lot more problems right now with the 47% comment, with the Romney campaign that is not doing as well as it needs to do in the swing states, with an Obama surge… If I were you, Mike, I’d be a little more concerned about some real issues that are hurting your ability to overtake the Democrats.”

Colmes did a fine job counter attacking Gallagher and Kelly.

Oh, and by the way? Check out the YouTube video underneath the America Live video. It shows George W. Bush signing, stepping on, and slapping on his knee… the American flag! Where’s Mike and Megyn when you need them?