Barack Obama Joker socialism poster denounced as racist

A poster depicting President Barack Obama as Heath Ledger's "Joker" character from "The Dark Knight" has sparked controversy after it appeared on the streets of Los Angeles.

By Toby Harnden in Washington
Published: 6:37PM BST 04 Aug 2009

The poster shows the US president with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick above the caption "socialism", in an apparent attack on the US president's efforts to reform health care and stimulus spending.

It is unknown who created and distributed the image, which some believe has racial overtones because it shows Mr Obama as a black-and-white minstrel in reverse.

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight: Demonic Lord of ChaosEarl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, denounced the image and called on those behind it to reveal themselves. "Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery.

"It is mean-spirited and dangerous.

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

A stark visual contrast to Shepard Fairey's popular red, white and blue image of the president-elect featuring the caption "hope", the "socialism" image has appeared as Mr Obama is facing a growing swell of criticism as he attempts to force through his $1 trillion health care programme.

The "socialism" poster has spread virally across the internet, crashing the website that first displayed images of it and rising to the top of Google's "Today's Hot Trends" list. Paper versions also appear to be spreading, with some showing up in Atlanta, Georgia.

Some Right-wing commentators have seized approvingly on the image. Thomas Lifson wrote on the conservative American Thinker website: "It is starting. Open mockery of Barack Obama, as disillusionment sets in with the man, his policies, and the phony image of a race-healing, brilliant, scholarly, middle-of-the-roader."

The liberal tabloid "LA Weekly", which depicted George W. Bush, the former president, as Dracula on its cover in 2004, denounced the Obama-Joker poster as virulently racist.

"It has a bit of everything to appeal to the drunk tank of California conservatism: Obama is in white face, his mouth (like Ledger's Joker's) has been grotesquely slit wide open and the word 'Socialism' appears below his face," wrote its blogger Steven Mikulan. "The only thing missing is a noose."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackob...

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Comment by leilei on August 5, 2009 at 2:12am: The author makes a good point about the hypocrisy of being offended by one but not the other. Neither should have caused that much of stir--they both are criminals

Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much

by: Noel Sheppard

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Not surprisingly, the Obama Joker Poster reported by NewsBusters Saturday is already drawing some outrage.

According to a television station where the posters have been spotted, "Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous."

Yet, when Vanity Fair's Politics & Power blog published a somewhat similar visual representation of George W. Bush last July, nobody seemed to complain. In fact, throughout the Bush years, demeaning drawings of the President and Vice President Dick Cheney were quite commonplace.

But, according to KTLA.com, depicting Barack Obama in unflattering terms is a no no (h/t Sonny Bunch via Jonah via Jonah Goldberg):

Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves.

"Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery," says Hutchinson, "it is mean-spirited and dangerous."

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

Hmmm. I wonder where the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable was when Vanity Fair: published this last July: (see image of Bush/top of page)

And where was the outrage when the Village Voice published this on the cover of its October 26, 2004, issue:

In reality, if I wanted to, I could likely produce hundreds of disgusting drawings of Bush, Cheney, and others in their Administration plastered at publications across the fruited plain the last eight years.

That was acceptable commentary and political satire back then.

Now that Obama is in the White House, it's called "mean-spirited and dangerous."

Any questions?

Comment by Tara on August 4, 2009 at 11:59pm: Yep, Marklar.....it's beyond retarded, it's absurd! They always have to play the race card when there is no other ground for them to stand on! What a freaking joke this all is!

Comment by leilei on August 4, 2009 at 11:13pm: "Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight: Demonic Lord of ChaosEarl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, denounced the image and called on those behind it to reveal themselves. "Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery."

That is not very clear--it almost sounds as if Heath Ledger denounced it as racist. But since he died in January 2008, I guess it is Earl Ofari Hutchinson making the idiotic statement.

Comment by Marklar on August 4, 2009 at 10:36pm: Racist my ass, there are no white people out there who have been cut out of acting jobs because black people in white face were painting themselves up and acting out the worst in white racial stereotypes. Trying to tie it to black face is just retarded.