Sen. Barack Obama, would-be President of the United States, showed a breathtaking misunderstanding of the symbolism of the American flag yesterday when he explained why he does not display the Stars and Stripes on his jacket lapel. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Obama said, "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest," because he felt that supporters of the war in Iraq had, in effect, appropriated lapel flags and were using them as a "substitute for I think true patriotism." And he wanted none of it.