Last week I saw the story about how Obama has quit wearing his American flag lapel pin. Obama’s decision rankled my sensibilities a bit, but as hard as I tried I couldn’t properly express my problems with his explanation. Luckily Eugene Volokh has done it for me:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he doesn’t tell his wife he loves her any more, because “I love you” has become a substitute for “true love.” The Illinois senator said he hopes to show his love by explaining his ideas about their relationship to her.

Volokh continues:

But the essence is similar: Wearing a flag pin is not supposed to be an explanation or an argument, just as “I love you” is not supposed to be an explanation or an argument. It’s supposed to be a traditional statement of affection, powerful because it’s cliché.If you’re in the sort of relationship in which you’ve never made such a statement–and here flag pin wearing is a little different than “I love you,” since most citizens who love their country don’t routinely say it–then you can indeed show your love in other ways. Returning to the analogy, you hear occasionally of old-fashioned couples who’ve never fallen into the “I love you” habit, but who love each other nonetheless.

Yet if you used to say this and then you stopped, the symbolic message is pretty powerful. And that’s true even though many people say “I love you” without meaning it (just as there are some who wear the flag pin but are just opportunists, not patriots). Even if this abuse of the phrase weakens its symbolism, an outright renunciation of the phrase retains its symbolism just fine.

The American people want a president who loves their country and who expresses that love, at an emotional as well as an intellectual level. For better or worse, a President Spock won’t get elected. Candidate Obama should know that.