Jack Kingston, the Republican congressman from Savannah, has decided to play the fool on his party's behalf. He has taken to popping up on various media outlets, making the kind of silly, fatuous arguments that would embarrass more serious politicians.

But Kingston has no shame. Appearing on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher," he accused Barack Obama of refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance, suggesting that such an act ought to raise a serious question in the minds of the American people.

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He's right, it should, but not in the way he might have wished. Kingston's allegation was utterly false — Obama has never balked at saying the pledge or honoring the flag. Kingston was trying to peddle an Internet fallacy on national TV, in the process raising questions not about Obama's patriotism but about his own judgment.

In that appearance, and later on an MSNBC show, Kingston also pointed out that Obama has balked at wearing the kind of flag lapel pin that so many politicians adopted in the aftermath of Sept. 11. With everybody else doing it, Kingston said, "it's curious that suddenly there is a guy who doesn't want to do it."

Whoa — somebody refusing to do what everybody else is doing! What does Obama think this is — America?

Obama has acknowledged quietly removing the lapel pin he wore for a while after Sept. 11. By the time of the runup to the Iraq war, he said, the pin "became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security."

We can all recall those days before the war — we can still remember what they were like. While we were preparing to send men and women into combat, the other 99 percent of Americans were urged to contribute through such sacrifices as going shopping, putting on a patriotic lapel pin and enjoying our tax cuts.

Back then, support for the invasion became perverted into a test of patriotism. A herd mentality developed, equating doubt about the wisdom of the war with some sort of anti-Americanism. Sadly, the flag lapel pin became a symbol of membership in that herd.

The sentiments of that herd were expressed well by Kingston himself, who expressed frustration with those who had doubts.

"We know that Saddam Hussein harbors terrorists," he said. "We know he hates the United States of America. We know he's near nuclear capable."

Then as now, two out of every three things that Kingston claims to know turn out to be wrong.

Obama, however, didn't like the direction the herd was headed. At a time when a lot of politicians swallowed their doubts and went along, he took the pin off and went his own way, opposing the war.

As it turns out, the herd was wrong and Obama was right. In the weeks before the war, 75 percent of Americans supported invasion. Today, roughly two-thirds oppose that same war.

For a lot of thoughtful Americans, even those who once supported the war, that experience offers a lesson. It is dangerous to define patriotism as going along with what everybody else says and does. Sometimes, patriotism is measured not by a lapel pin, but by a willingess to air your doubts and dare to be different, for the good of your country. It is a lesson that Kingston has yet to learn.

This election year, Republicans have a lot of legitimate issues to raise with Obama, if indeed he becomes the Democratic nominee. He has said he will use government to help extend health insurance to most, if not all, Americans, and he will raise taxes on the wealthiest of Americans. His relative lack of experience and his promise of a new approach to foreign policy are also fair game.

However, the American people understand that a lot is at stake in this election. If either party allows its campaign to be defined by petty character assassins of the likes of Kingston, the voters aren't likely to be impressed.

• Jay Bookman is deputy editorial page editor. His column runs Monday and Thursday.