2009-09-18 Obama as witch doctor

2009-09-18 Ashley Fantz CNN \Barack Obama/racism\Barack Obama/witch doctor poster\Tea Party http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/17/obama.witchdoctor.teaparty/index.html Obama as witch doctor: Racist or satirical? Obama as witch doctor  Posters portraying President Obama as a witch doctor may be racist, organizers of Tea Party protests say, but they reflect anger about where he is leading the country.

The posters, showing Obama wearing a feather headdress and a bone through his nose, have been popping up in e-mails, on Web sites and at Tea Party protests for weeks.

The image has stoked debate and cast attention on the rallies, which have drawn people Tea Party organizers describe as on the fringe and not representative of the overall movement. Their general viewpoint, leaders say, is that there's been too much federal government intervention, particularly concerning health care and taxes.

The witch doctor imagery is blatantly racist, critics contend.

Others remind that presidents get made fun off all the time, and the election of a black president has only made racially charged political satire more sensitive.

... "It's true that presidents before have had to endure some rough stuff, and there's nothing wrong with satire," Campbell said. "President Bush was morphed into Hitler. That was not excusable either. Just because it's happened in the past doesn't mean there isn't a line and it can't be crossed." Comments:
 * I disagree that it was inappropriate for Bush to be morphed into Hitler; there is actually a strong case for that logic.
 * Whether or not there's anything wrong with the poster, anyone who finds it funny is revealing their racist outlook, greatly undermining the credibility of any rational arguments they might have.

&ldquo;Posters portraying President Obama as a witch doctor may be racist, organizers of Tea Party protests say, but they reflect anger about where he is leading the country.&rdquo;   