Inhofe asks if Obama "really loves his country"

The Tulsa World catches global warming skeptic Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) saying that John McCain will probably win because voters don't think Obama is a true patriot.

"Do you really want to have a guy as commander in chief of this country when you can question whether or not he really loves his country?" Inhofe asked in an interview with the paper.

"That's the big question.''

An Obama spokesman didn't like the sound of that, firing back: "Sen. Obama won't let anyone question his love of this country. ... Challenging your opponent's patriotism to win an election is the type of cynical partisan politics Americans are tired of."

Inhofe, realizing he may have gone a little too far, issued a written statement on Friday saying he was "not questioning" Obama's patriotism. Then he more or less said it again, adding an explanation.

"[Y]ou have to question why at times he seems so obviously opposed to public displays of patriotism and national pride, like wearing an American flag lapel pin," Inhofe added.

This isn't the first time the 73-year-old conservative has thrown a verbal bomb. He's said he's "outraged by the outrage" over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and, in 2006, chalked up the global warming crisis to "the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture."

Glenn Thrush is senior staff writer at Politico Magazine.