Being a conservative means many things, but it begins with believing that liberals are wrong. Always. About everything. Therefore, if a liberal says something, the opposite is likely true. Case in point, Obama says:
“I don’t care what they say about me but I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift boat politics.”
Michelle Malkin notes the implicit message:
[A]ll who dare mock him or challenge his Absolute Moral Authority suffer from patriotism deficiency.
In other words, according to Obama, if you vote Republican, you don’t love this country. In fact, according to Obama, if you didn’t vote for John Kerry, you don’t love this country. Because no one loves this country as much as Obama (especially not that old dude who spent six years in the Hanoi Hilton).
So there’s only one thing to do now: Question his patriotism. Routinely. Openly. To his face. If Obama says he is more patriotic than his opponents, then what Team Maverick should do is to portray him as unpatriotic.