Lesson of the Day — No Throwing Stones if You Live in a Glass House
Another wingnut Synchronized Whinge™ is making the rounds about Obama’s logo for his presidential campaign:
Personally, I think this logo is sort of ugly, especially in light of the elegant and gorgeous logo his campaign used for the primaries. And, honestly, I can’t tell quite what the point of this new graphic is. However, the wingnut line on this is shock and outrage (you were expecting something else?) that Obama could be so presumptuous to appropriate the symbolism — with some making the lame argument that he may be in violation of the law to do this.
But, lo! Look who else has done their own graphic riffs with the seals! And the NRSC uses them solely for fund raising. Which I guess these wingnuts will tell you is more American and apple pie than whatever they think Obama is doing.
So when you see the media go apeshit over this, do feel free to pass on this data in many and frequent letters to the networks.
http://tinyurl.com/5dw9po
Why doesn’t he use his full website:
http://www.barackhusseinobama.com
He registered for it!!!!
Tom Ross (what’s his new title?) has also used the symbol.
Also…
I really liked the “Student’s For Obama” version.
Those glass houses are so pesky! The faux outrage is getting old.
Did anyone see the obit late last week for Louise (Weezie) Murphy Taylor? I have no idea who she is and I’m sorry she departed before I could meet her. … she was a pistol in her day. About half way thru the obit it says :
(If you loved Weezie vote for Barak)…..never seen anything like that is an obit.
There was a guy in VA that asked that in leiu of flowers, please send money to Obama.
I do object to anybody–right or left-appropriating that symbol.
But given that even here jason is only picking up what the Obama people are actively promulgating (that “acting president” schtick), your crying foul when he gets caught at it strikes me equally as faux outrage, and equally politically expedient….
As an American I put a lot more value on the Constitution than symbols.
As an American I put a lot of emphasis on both.
Neither your position nor mine, Pandora, has any particular merit of moral superiority.
When we discuss Audacity of Hope later, we can discuss the position of Constitutional Scholar Barack Obama, which is much less promising in many ways that his press clippings….
Oh, and Steve, the faux outrage comment was mine and it had nothing to do with Obama. I merely pointed out the hypocrisy.
Pandora, we generally are two people who agree on a lot who are often separated by our assumptions about rhetoric 🙂
That having been said, I stand by what I said in my own blog–the use of that symbol in that fashion is presumptuous and borderline offensive.
You know me well enough by now to know that I would hold McCain, Barr, or Nader to the same standard.
Fair enough, Steve. We see symbols differently. My point, and I believe the point Cassandra was making, (Sorry, Cass, if I’m wrong) was concerning hypocrisy. They (the repubs.) can’t call foul when they’re using the symbol as well. Either it’s “sacred” or it’s not.
Hey maybe I just don’t get it why is this offensive it’s just a symbol,
People have been using the flag for years to sell us snake oil
If we should be offended by anything it’s that we as a nation have given a real Jerk the authority to use the real symbol for the past 7 and one half years
I am not nearly as worried aboiut the use of American patriotic symbols as I am about the problems we are facing.
I think Senator Obama, if he wants to be honest to the principles of the democratic party needs to seriously revise his foreign policy position from one of intervention in the affairs of other nations to one of non-intervention, peaceful development and cooperation. (see Steve’s excellent article over at DE Libertarian) Recommend it to David Plouffe!! it is worth reading becuase if he wants team Obama to make a change for the better, this is how to do it. I feel that the libertarian party has basically tkane the position that FDR and Jefferson took in foreign affairs- the good neigbhor policy. That policy works like no other and it will bring more peace and prosperity to this hempishere than any other poliy we have had in 70 years.
If we get that far, I think we will have come about 50% of the way to restoring public confidence in our republic; then all we would need to do is tackle the civil liberty issues that have come up over the last 7 years and the democrats would be back in business with a FDR platform rather than a Johnsonesque one that shares a number of positions with Senator McCain.
Granted McCain fails in every possible area, but if we get past these two issues Senator Obama will be change I can beleieve in becuase our republic will survive and really thrive in the coming two decades.
TT
I have been offended for years in the way the flag and other symbols have been used, as you say, to sell snake oil.
Corrupting the symbols is an essential part of the process of corrupting the substance.
What disappointed me so much about Senator Obama using the faux presidential seal is that it’s another one of those irritating, jarring little notices that he’s (guess what) an exceptionally charismatic but traditional politician, noticeably short on substance and using every subliminal advertising trick he can steal from Bubba Clinton or the GOPers.
But I DO agree that the GOP hypocrisy is ridiculous….
Obama has pulled the symbol.
The real shame is that Obama has to prove his patriotism (to some). Unfortunately, we have become a nation where flag pins and seals equal patriotism.
Want to invade Iran? If you’re wearing a flag pin, well then… that’s okay.
It not that I want Obama to prove his Patriotism for I believe he has that I would like him to keep his word on the FISA surveillance bill and join in a filibuster like he stated to move on several months ago. Now is the time to show that he is of a different mold than others inside the beltway and be willing to stand up for the constitution and not aid and abet Bush like our party has done for the past two years. His failure to do so will not make me support the Senile Old man but will diminish his stature as an agent of change in my eyes