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The American flag is a prominent symbol in American politics, yet this prominence has not translated into considerable research attention. Of those who have considered the American flag in political science, it is generally thought that the flag is important because it conveys a candidate's patriotism, which causes voters to consider the candidate to be more desirable. In this way, the American flag is similar to other valence issues, which give candidates an added advantage that is separate from his/her issue stances. In this study, I contend that the flag's valence component is only part of the story. Specifically, social psychology literature suggests that the American flag is influential because it increases the salience and vividness of a given campaign message, which increases the amount of viewer attention. Using NES data I have found evidence that is consistent with the theory outlined above, which I plan on supplementing with an experiment of undergraduate students, in which the American flag is added to political ads taken from 2006 Congressional campaigns. If additional statistical support is found, it would add considerable depth to our understanding of the importance of valence issues and the American flag. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]