Believing Your Own Press
In pictures taken or made by both adoring fans and by the press, Barack Obama keeps getting the heavenly, messianic treatment. Check out this blog that highlights all sorts of examples. And see here for a few others. Covering enthusiasm is one thing; framing the shot it another.
But it looks like the guy’s starting to cater to this feeling by giving his acceptance speech in a mock-up of a Greek temple.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama‘s big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.
The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos’ National Football League team plays.
Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington’s Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party’s nomination for president.
He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.
The show should provide a striking image for the millions of Americans watching on television as Obama delivers a speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
(Click here for a picture.)
The keyword here is “image”. Granted, both parties manage the image of their candidates; perception is too often reality for many folks and the parties play to this. But this is simply way over the top, and McCain’s ad about Obama’s celebrity starts to ring truer and truer. The whole Adonis imagery he’s playing to is indicative of a guy who is drunk on his own Kool-Aid.
After this, you can’t say that messianic imagery is simply foist upon Mr. Obama by his fans. He’s participating in it and encouraging it. And now we know why he chose Invesco Field; the convention center was too small for his head.
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Forgive me, but these complaints look and sound like a partisan supporter grasping at straws to find something – ANYTHING – to pin on their opponent.
1. The “messiah” stuff has all come from the Right (well, sure, there may be a few on the Left who go over the top, but it’s not part and parcel of the Obama campaign or even of the Dem Party)
2. So far, the best Team McCain has come up with against Obama is that he is “like a celebrity,” they don’t like his pastor, that Obama’s too elitist, they think he’s acting too Messiah-like and he lacks experience.
3. Of those, the ONLY one with any basis in reality at all is the suggestion that he lacks experience.
4. The McCain side has been flailing around trying to find ANYTHING to stick and it’s just sort of pathetic. Maybe if he had an affair or left his injured wife for a younger blonde with whom he’d had an affair or something. But no. Their attacks have been baseless and ought hold no sway at all.
As to that Obamessiah website, how do we even know it’s run by some Obama fan? It looks like to me that it’s the type of thing that an Obama foe would put up to try to inflate this baseless “messiah” charge.
I’m quite sure the the Obamamessiah website is, in fact, run by an opponent of Obama, simply documenting the Media’s and the Left’s drooling over this guy. So, your item number 1, that this is somehow all coming from the Right, is completely disproven by this website.
For number 2, I’d say a few things. The best the McCain camp has come up with are Clinton’s words about Obama. It’s not that folks don’t like his pastor, but that his pastor doesn’t like America, and Obama sat in that guy’s church for 2 decades. He finally had to throw him under the bus, along with a score of other friends. And the fact that he is acting so Messiah-like speaks to his selling of image over substance.
Thus, for number 3, there’s plenty of reality to go around when it comes to Obama criticisms. He’s the Senate’s most liberal member, and he’s having to constantly distance himself from the radicals he’s been connected with over the years. I’d say he lacks judgment to go along with his lack of experience.
I disapprove of McCain’s marital actions, and he, too, admitted to Rick Warren that it was his worst failing. Obama stuck with a man full of hate speech, and is suing folks who expose his connections to an unrepentant terrorist. Cast aspersions all you like at McCain; he admits he was wrong. Obama litigates.
I am not entirely certian of the point here, after all George W. Bush accepted his own nomination in 2004 in a faux Greek temple. Is the point to make Obama more scary, antichrist like?
I am a life long Republican, and this seems to be thin gruel to base a politcal campaign on.
Not sure what you’re talking about. If you have a picture, I’d be much obliged. Instead, the picture attached to this article doesn’t seem to show any special Greek motif around Bush at the convention.
Again, this is not the foundation of a political campaign. It is, however, one more piece of evidence that says Obama’s campaign is more show than substance.
You know, one need not assume that because there is Greek architectural symbols as a backdrop, that Obama thinks himself a Greek god. Greece, you will recall, is the birthplace of Democracy. We have Greek architectural flourishes and implementation across our nation and in our nation’s capitol especially.
Again, it seems like a bit of desperation-criticism, trying to find something – ANYTHING – to try to stop the Obama path to presidency.
I’d suggest that the Republicans would be more adult and patriotic to discuss Obama’s policies – criticize them if they wish – and give up this “rock star,” “messiah,” “celebrity,” “Paris Hilton,” “don’t like his pastor” angles.
It’s just embarrassing to me as an American that this is the nature of our political discourse.
“ARE” and “THESE,” respectively – pardon the grammatical errors, please.
Sure we have Greek influence in our architecture and governmental system. We just don’t (typically) build them special for one speech, which, ironically, is to be followed by rock stars and celebrities.
I googled and got a pic, how do I email it to you?
Will you also be criticizing the Republicans for any excesses they display during their convention or is this mere partisan sniping?
For what it’s worth, I find the whole expensive gala approach to these type events excessive. I am a simple living advocate and gaudy exhibitions that cost a great deal of money are not my cup of tea.
But it’s not limited to Obama. I am equally critical of overly-gaudy exhibitions whoever puts them on.
Bush, for instance, had the most expensive inauguration gala ever – costing about $40 million! (I believe Clinton’s second swearing in cost ~$25-30 million!) Man, what wasteful extravagance.
Well, I tried putting the link in on “Bush” but it didn’t take.
Here’s a source for that number:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article403037.ece
sorry, I just found your email
It is just that this story so reminds me of the big stink over Obama’s plane not having the US flag on it, and then I found out that McCain’s didnt either. All this seems much ado over nothing.
Monk: Click here for your picture and one more. You’re comparing a speech made in the convention center where those 4 columns were behind everybody, including the President of the United States, to a combination Parthenon / White House mock-up for the sole purpose of the one acceptance speech of a less-than-one-term Senator. Sorry, don’t quite see them as the same thing.
Dan: I’ll criticize the Republicans if they do something like the same thing. I don’t begrudge the Democrats their party time; they worked hard for it. Decorations, balloons, confetti, Jumbotrons, whatever. If they want to pay for it out of voluntary political contributions, it’s theirs to burn. But it’s this one guy’s obsession with himself, setting up his own private venue with rock stars and such that makes me wonder why he can’t just accept the nomination and say what he wants to say. The over-the-top glitz seems to emphasize style over substance and a glaring lack of humility over what he’s being nominated for.
If McCain does something like that, I will be disappointed in the extreme, and will say so here. I really doubt it’ll happen, but you have my word if it does.
But it’s this one guy’s obsession with himself, setting up his own private venue with rock stars and such
But you have not offered the first bit of evidence that Obama is the “obsessed” with himself – is HE the one arranging all of this or asking that it be set up this way?
I know nothing about how these things are handled, but I imagine Obama is quite a busy man these days. I would be surprised if he had anything to do with any of this other than perhaps people asking “is it okay if we…”
There is almost certainly a committee whose job this was.
Do you think Bush’s inauguration was “over the top” glitz? – they spent $40 million on the thing!
Again, this sounds like petty nitpicking on the part of a partisan Republican.
fyi, by comparison, this convention is estimated to cost $15 million, according to wikipedia. Does that make the Bush inauguration 3 times worse? How much time did you spend criticizing it?
Why did Bush order such a gaudy extravaganza? How much did Bush spend on champagne? Why wouldn’t he have ordered something more reasonable? He must have some ego!
OR, perhaps Bush had very little to do with the organization of that gala. That would be my guess.
Another way of looking at it could be that the 2004 Republican convention had about 5000 in attendance (2,509 delegates and 2,344 alternate delegates); and this “White House/Parthenon” mock up for a mere “less-than-one-term Senator” sort of balances out when you have 70,000 or so citizens in attendance.
Of COURSE the Dem.s are making him look his best, they smell blood and rightly so. This fall is going to be hard for Republicans all over the map, and to be honest I think we just might deserve it. This isn’t just about the White House, the Senate and House, as well as State races are not boding well.
Maybe a few years out of power would give us a chance to reform into something more intellectually honest and morally consistent.
Monk-in-Training: The Picture of McCain’s plane has the flag on the fuselage.
Living in blood Red Oklahoma, I personally do not have the opportunity to personally see the plane. However, Snopes shows McCain’s plane, and I can not see a US flag. (see below)
My point is that we Republicans are arguing over silly ‘gotcha’ points when our nation has serious issues that need solving.
http://msgboard.snopes.com/politics/graphics/mccainplane.jpg
And part of my point is that the party of ‘family values’ brought Obama on ourselves! Obama ran against Republican Jack Ryan in 2004 whose campaign imploded when it was revealed that he had wanted his then wife ,Jeri Ryan, to engage in sexual activities in front of other people at sex clubs they had visited.
Without this win on the national level, Obama would probably still be in the wings, and Hillary would be running the campaign.
So basically, I feel that by allowing people of that character into our ranks, we have allowed Obama a national stage.
Just sayin. 😉