Obama Defies Family by Wearing Bracelet

Updated below

Sen. Barack Obama pointed to a bracelet that he wears in last Friday's first presidential debate with Sen. John McCain. The bracelet was given to Obama by the mother of fallen Sgt. Ryan Jopek in February of this year and bears his name. Obama first referred to the bracelet after he won the Wisconsin Democratic primary, and has worn it and mentioned Sgt. Jopek occasionally throughout the campaign. Obama's mention of Jopek during the debate was to counter Sen. McCain's mention of his own bracelet, given to him by the mother of a fallen soldier Matthew Stanley.

"I've got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant - from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, given to me in Green Bay. She asked me, 'Can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through?'"

Conservatives saw it as a small and petty rejoinder, one that attempted to sideline the views of all military families by reducing them to the level of partisan political statements. But now comes word that could be more damaging to Sen. Obama. The family of Sgt. Jopek asked Obama to stop wearing the bracelet and mentioning their son's name at campaign appearances, yet Obama persists in defiance of the family's wishes.

Sgt. Jopek's father, Brian Jopek, like his son a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, told Wisconsin Public Radio last March that he and his ex-wife, Ryan's mother Tracy, no longer wanted Obama to wear the bracelet.

"[F]rom what I understood from e-mail exchanges with Tracy....she wanted to put a name, she wanted Sen. Obama to know Ryan's name...She wasn't looking to turn it into a big media event...She just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself."

She had told me that in an e-mail that she had asked, actually asked Mr. Obama to not wear the bracelet anymore at any of his public appearances."

It is not known whether Sen. McCain has the permission of the Stanley family to use their son's name in his appearances. But until Sen. Obama can secure the blessing of the Jopeks, he ought to take the bracelet off, or at least stop using Sgt. Jopek's name at his campaign appearances to make a political point.

Update: Tracy Jopek now says that she was "thrilled" to have Sen. Obama mention her son Sgt. Ryan Jopek in Friday's debate. Jopek confirmed that she had asked Obama to stop wearing the bracelet back in March. There is no word yet on whether Sgt. Jopek's father also endorses the mention of his son's name on Friday. However, the point remains that Obama has been wearing the bracelet and mentioning Jopek at his political events for the past seven months, against the express wishes of his family. And he likely did not have the family's permission to wear the bracelet or mention Sgt. Jopek at the debate. Hopefully, Sen. Obama will respect the family's wishes and refrain from employing Sgt. Jopek's name in future political appearances.