It’s only just begun.  People were willing to let Obama slide when they didn’t think he had a chance to be the nominee.  If you recall, the press initially was accused of bias toward Clinton the presumptive choice, undercovering Obama for months.

Of course the picture wouldn’t bother any normal person, but seeing it appear as it did and when it did conveyed a message—a code that said “remember, this man is really black.” 

Did Hillary have anything to do with it?  No, not overtly and not provably.  But even her last comment in which she said the country would be much changed by a woman president helped imply a like statement by Obama who couldn’t say of course that the country would be changed by a black president….

do the math.

WQw.  Like Cyrena, I did not pick up any difference in Obama’s color during this debate.  But I did notice a big change in Hillary’s complexion.  I wondered just how she managed to smooth her skin of the jowls and other marks of age.  I thought at first she’d gotten a lift, maybe not surgical but some kind of treating that’s done with waves & ions…or perhaps she’d borrowed some Hollywood tricks and used temporary lifters for this debate.

She has tons of friends in Hollywood, so I imagine she availed herself of their tips.  Her pantsuit, rather Star Wars, helped rejuvenate her look.  Sometimes she looks dowdy. 

There have been countless controversies about photographing black people.  Remember the uproar about the Time cover of OJ that darkened him for a menacing effect. 

I’m sure campaigns are attentive to this, remembering Richard Nixon’s unflattering visage next to John Kennedy during the debates that accentuated his 5 oclock shadow and made him look devilish.

I have to wonder why no one has considered that the photo was leaked to Drudge by a member of the MCCAIN campaign, CLAIMING to be a member of the Clinton campaign.  After all, it was only HOURS after that photo circulated that some of McCain’s “surrogates” began “pushing” Obama’s middle name.

Food for thought…

Peace.

The media is the media. You can blame their work all you want. I think people like you should be ashamed, though. If it weren’t for Hillary’s losses and “unfair treatment” by the press (even though pro-Hillary coverage is common, but poorly written on skeptical claims)you and many others would never call out our awful, AWFUL media in this country. There is so little quality in journalism these days, and it took Hillary Clinton for it to be brought to the attention to the rest of the country. I’ve been starkly against most media outlets for years now, and no one cared until now.

Do something about it if you care so much.

By Aegrus, February 27: ”...it is really easy to see how Barack Obama is unshakable. He can deflect any of these allegations with the greatest strength and poise…”

As the media’s “chosen one” and “trophy messiah” status, his so-called success is .....what?

Media faulted over Obama coverage -  Some people on the left and right are slamming the media for giving Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama what they say is a free ride.

The vetting of Obama by the press could begin this spring or summer after the primaries and before the Democratic convention http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=77048&vi deoChannel=1

Joe,

Thanks for pointing this out. I can’t claim any knowledge in electronics at all, but now that you’ve pointed this out, (especially the coloring) it is drastically different from other captured images of Obama, (as well as Clinton).

Actually, while I hadn’t really ‘registered’ the big difference with Obama, (in the way he looks here) I remember thinking very briefly, that Hillary looked MUCH BETTER than she usually does. At least in my opinion. And, since it didn’t seem possible that she’d had time to fit in a quick surgery, I just figured her makeup was better accomplished.

But ya know, lighting is everything, eh? Add that to the consistent rhetoric, (here and elsewhere) that focuses on his race, either directly or indirectly, and always NEGATIVELY, (no matter how subtle) and the whole race thing just stays in the forefront of ignorant minds.

Anyway, hopefully somebody within the Obama campaign WILL pick up on this. Thing is, it takes an awful lot of wasted energy to try and anticipate all of these dirty tricks. Even after witnessing and being subjected to the same for so many years, I’m STILL amazed at some of the stuff that these people are capable of, in a society that still can’t get past their racist tendencies.

And, what I’ve noticed is that it just doesn’t take THAT MANY!! (die hard racists). Like here, it only takes one or a few, to jack-up the lighting, and unless one KNOWS, like you do…how this is accomplished, then the viewing public is affected, whether they realize it or not.

This reminds me of an experience years ago, with my first ‘employee ID’. It was a standard Polaroid camera of the times, and the woman taking the photo made the comment that black people always come out ‘shiny’. I thought it was odd, since my beige colored face generally only appears ‘shiny’ on those types of photos that have a really bright flash attachment. Outdoor photos never have the same ‘shine’, and white people with suntanned skin far darker than mine, are never ‘shiny’. Besides, we/they don’t always look anything like that in real life, or maybe I should just say, ‘in a different light.’

The same can be said of what people choose to do with words, (as well as visual images). Focusing on things that project an entirely different image than what the real subject matter is all about. So many tricks…so much wasted time.

On the other hand, imagine if the American public had been able to experience even CLOSE to this level of debate and public discourse in prior elections. Imagine if we’d been able to hold the Bush Cheney team up to this same scrutiny, before they were able to wreck havoc on the world over the past 7 years. Might have made a difference. I don’t know.

Meantime, maybe Obama’s team should start erecting a pictorial record of his family tree as a background on all of his video or other camera appearances. That could include a gigantic photo of his WHITE mother, (since she’s passed away) and his WHITE maternal grandparents, who I believe are still alive, but obviously not in a position to join him on the campaign trail.  (Hell, I wouldn’t last more than a week in a campaign myself, and I’m not a whole lot older than he is) And of course that should include his biological father, who IS obviously black, but about which we know very little, since he wasn’t around for that much of Obama’s daily life. Maybe that would help some less informed Americans to connect the appropriate dots, or even to disconnect from the inappropriate ones. 

For instance, how much should anybody really care about Obama’s blackness, or Hillary’s lack of the same? How important are those dot connections to race and gender, and if they have this importance, WHY? That continues to be the larger question, at least for me. Why does this ‘created focus’ on race continue to wreck havoc on a society, by diverting attention from the things that really SHOULD matter?

I’m inclined (as is Obama from what he says here) to take Sen. Clinton at her word, AT LEAST ON THE ISSUE OF THIS PHOTO.

IOW, even she wouldn’t do something that stupid and insignificant. As the moderator pointed out, Mrs. Clinton has ALSO donned the traditional dress of the host countries when visiting those countries.

Even more importantly, dozens of former leaders, diplomats, etc, etc, have done the very same thing, over the decades. In short, this is NOT a big deal, and reasonably well informed people would not see or otherwise interpret it as a big deal.

Therefore, it is the racist and ignorant within the US population, who circulated this photo, thinking it would be a huge smear on Barack’s image. This would have come from the same ignorant bunch who began circulating the Muslim story, nearly 2 years ago, and the same ignorant mindset that shows up on this blog, from various posters.

That’s not to say that Hillary hasn’t indulged in smear and negative comments, (as we also see here) but even she wouldn’t do something as ignorant and counterproductive as the photo of Obama in traditional garb.

Unfortunately for Hillary, there are a lot of ignorant and racist people out there, who aren’t so much supporters of HER, but just want to do anything they can, to disable HIM. So, they do stupid stuff like this, and her campaign is automatically blamed, just because she HAS done her own share of smearing.

Unintended consequences…

The anarchist party needs new blood as well.

The US Empire will collapse and both of these candidates only offer solutions that will speed up the process. I guess I’d much rather watch Obama on TV painting a rosy picture and ignoring the world around him than Hillary. That giggle of hers frightens me.

Reporter: President Clinton if we bomb Iran there will be serious repercussions.

Clinton: Hahahahaha…

Strange how the Clinton rebuttal to the now nefarious fliers wasn’t shown.

In any case, it is really easy to see how Barack Obama is unshakable. He can deflect any of these allegations with the greatest strength and poise. That’s someone I want to represent our country in place of a petulant king George or a petulant queen Hillary.