WELL said, Senator. "Patriot" and "partisan" may share a few letters, but partisans owe allegiance to a political faction, while patriots put the nation's welfare above their own.

Think of the forefathers we honor on the Fourth of July. Mostly affluent, destined to a life of privilege. While they may have resented an unjust tax system that treated them as legal nonentities, they didn't have to risk their lives in the name of the principle that all men are created equal.

But they did, and the rest is history. Now think what would have happened if Jefferson and Adams weighed the pros and cons of declaring independence, and settled for known comforts as opposed to the uncertainty of what rebellion might bring. And what if George Washington, serene on his farm in Virginia, refused to put on the uniform once more in the service of a noble dream?

These were heroes, despite their human flaws and the relentless criticism they've attracted in our oh-so-more-

"enlightened" age. That's the essence of patriotism, dedication to a principle larger than yourself and without regard for personal risk. No wonder that it's a rare commodity in modern political warfare.

Obama is to be commended for reminding us that no one's patriotism should be questioned in the run-up to November.

But he might want to communicate that message to his surrogates, people like Gen. Wesley Clark, who apparently believe that it's OK to make light of John McCain's military experience. On "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Clark said, apropos of nothing: "I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."

No one has argued that McCain should win in November because he spent 5 1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton. (That would be as silly as saying that someone's race or gender should be the reason.)

Still, McCain's Vietnam experience is a critical part of who he is, and at the very least it deserves respectful acknowledgment, not sound-bite sarcasm.

Hopefully, Obama disagrees with Clark (although these days it's kind of hard to figure out where he stands on any given issue). He definitely hasn't thrown the general under the bus, probably because it's crowded under there with granny and Jeremiah Wright. Let's hope he's at least capable of condemning the cheap attacks coming from the left that are questioning McCain's miltary record, particularly those in the poisoned part of the blogosphere.

A few examples:

John Aravosis at www.americablog.com writes:

"A lot of people don't know . . . that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity. Putting that bit of disloyalty aside, what exactly is McCain's military experience that prepares him for being commander in chief?"

(I wonder how Mr. Aravosis would react if he was threatened with getting his arms broken in several places.)

And then there's Jeffrey Klein at the increasingly embarrassing HuffingtonPost.com, who writes in conspiratorial tones that "some of the unreleased pages in McCain's Navy file may not reflect well upon his qualifications for the presidency."

(Tinfoil cap time, ladies and gentlemen.)

And on behalf that group of annoying females, Code Pink, comes the following from Medea Benjamin: "I wouldn't characterize anybody who fought in Vietnam as a war hero."

(Some women really don't deserve the vote.)

But the left isn't alone in attacking McCain. Conservatives have taken equal pleasure in trying to burst his electoral bubble. But on the right, most of the criticism pertains to his policies, not his personal heroism.

Which makes me think back to the 2004 election, when Democrats were up in arms about the alleged "swiftboating" of John Kerry and Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who lost three limbs in Vietnam - and his re-election bid. Let's hope liberals are equally offended by these latest slanderous offerings.

As I said, patriotism is not partisan.

Tomorrow is Independence Day. A day for remembering uncommon sacrifice. A day for acknowledging that every person who put on a uniform is heroic, and remains so well beyond his final tour of duty. A day for forgetting party and creed. On that point, Obama has it very right. *

See Christine Flowers on Channel 6's "Inside Story" Sunday at 11:30 a.m. E-mail cflowers1961@yahoo.com.