You have four dems out in Iowa campaigning for President. Three of them know what to do when the national anthem is played. None of them are loved here—Gov. Richardson, now Sec. Clinton and Mrs. Ruth Harkin, wife of Sen. Tom Harken and one who did a lot of good prosecuting rapists (if she does that, I don't care who she votes for). As much as I disagree with them, I think that they are in their hearts Americans.
Out current President doesn't even know what to do with his hands, let alone his eyes. He's just standing there lost in space, probably thinking about how much arugula he could grow on that great Iowa farmland.
He just simply does not get it.
You may not like Joe Biden, but he has a son who served in the JAG corp in Afghanistan, and I think that Joe has real feeling for what happened at that place nine years ago, despite his political opinions. The White House handlers were smart in sending him instead of the Pres. The handlers probably understand just exactly what they are handling.