Obama and the Honor Bracelet

At the conclusion of Friday night's debate between Senators McCain and Obama some TV commentators took note of the lack of memorable moments and sound bites. Now, one exchange from that debate is gaining attention: The candidates' mentions of memorial bracelets worn to honor two fallen soldiers in Iraq.

First it was John McCain who spoke of the bracelet he wore, bearing the name of Matthew Stanley, an Army soldier killed in late 2006 by a roadside bomb.  McCain said:

Soon it was Obama's turn to speak.  As he directed his answer to debate moderator Jim Lehrer, Obama stammered briefly as he looked to his bracelet before reading the name of Ryan Jopek, a soldier killed by a roadside bomb in August 2006.

The ensuing controversy stemmed from earlier reports that Ryan's mother, Tracy Jopek, had e-mailed the Obama campaign asking for him not to mention the bracelet in public forums.  Jopek told the Associated Press she never received a response, but that until last Friday she hadn't heard her son's name mentioned by the candidate.  The AP reports:

Yesterday's New York Post took a further look at the issue and quoted an interview Ryan Jopek's father gave on Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this year.  Brian Jopek, who is divorced from Ryan's mother, had this to say:

In response to questioning from Fox News anchors about the appropriateness of Obama's mention of Ryan Jopek, senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs accused the interviewers of making up facts during a short and heated exchange.



The National Review's campaign blog saw Obama's actions as "revealing" if indeed he'd gotten the message about Tracy Jopek's wishes:

Despite such criticisms the Associated Press reported yesterday that Tracy Jopek was "ecsatic" about Obama's mention of his bracelet during the debate.  As the AP reports:

So, maybe Jopek's latest statements to the AP settles the whole thing as it applies to the context of the debate.  The question that people don't seem to be asking, however, is whether it was appropriate for both candidates to even mention the bracelets at all.  If indeed they were wearing the bracelets as a sign of personal remembrance, why feel the need to point it out on national television? The answer is pretty obvious, but is that enough to make it OK?