I have to confess I'm as confused as Pat Powers about the Badland Blue post regarding my Nelson-in-a-yarmulke photo. I'm not going as far as Powers and alleging anti-semitism, but I'm not sure what the post's point was. Is "Badlands Blue Liberal" attacking Nelson for attending the menorah-lighting ceremony? For wearing the yarmulke while attending the ceremony? If so, on what grounds — pandering in some way shape or form?

In any case, this isn't something new for Nelson. I covered last year's menorah lighting ceremony on the Capitol steps, too — and Nelson was there (still mustachioed), though apparently bare-headed, standing next to Gov. Mike Rounds in this photo:

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So this isn't just an election-year pander or something like that. (If it was, I think Nelson would have stuck around after the ceremony to be interviewed. I wanted to get some quotes from him for my story but he disappeared as soon as the ceremony was over.)

And wearing a yarmulke is common even for non-Jews as a sign of respect. When I visited the world's second-largest synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, everyone not already wearing a hat was given a yarmulke to wear, as this blurry photo I took indicates.

ADDENDUM: In light of the controversy, I should clarify that I didn't mean to imply that there was any sort of obligation or requirement for non-Jews to wear a yarmulke at Jewish religious events. It's a sign of respect. At some sacred sites — like the Western Wall, or the Hungarian synagogue I visited — visitors are asked to wear one as a sign of respect. Some Orthodox Jews (per Wikipedia; my own background being mainline Protestant) wear the yarmulke at all times.