In the crowd of anti-warriors and anti-Bushies that has colonized Union Square in Manhattan, I saw one kid wearing a T-shirt, “Kerry-Edwards: For a Stronger America.” Wrong vibe: this is a not a rally for anyone, and it is not a rally for a stronger America. It is a rally of the self-righteous left, which seeks by exorcism to purge America of its baseness and evil. Signs of American strength–or independent action of any kind–are symptoms of that evil.

The only other American flag I spotted was on some Hispanic vendor of water bottles. Oh, yes, a cop had one on the handlebars of his motorcycle.