Obama As The Joker, No Joking Matter… but Bush As The Joker, or Dracula, or Hitler? Fair Game
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on August 4, 2009
Dizzying outcry and condemnation. And a heaping portion of selective memory.
Liberals in California (and elsewhere) are loudly upset about the latest series of rebel posters depicting POTUS as The Joker from Batman, with the word “Socialism” written beneath. These posters are popping up all over Los Angeles and Hollywood. The Obama-Joker poster is drawing shrill outrage from liberals… and for some Obama supporters, the Victorian-era need to dash for the smelling salts. How can anyone dare to be critical of Dear Leader?
What about publishing insulting, critical renderings of former Pres. George W. Bush? Of pictures showing him dead or wishing him dead? Of Bush about to kill himself or killing others? Oh, well, THAT’S different…
Here are various shots of the now-famous Obama-as-The-Joker poster (these posters are well known by Cuban bloggers, as they’ve been around a few months):
LA Weekly wrote:
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. The only thing missing is a noose.
Well, I can understand why they’re upset. I was a bit upset when I first saw this next picture. However, I’ve looked and can’t find any outcry from any newspapers on this one of Pres. Bush as a demonic vampire. Perhaps for good reason: LA Weekly was responsible for printing it, the same publication now up in arms over the Obama-Joker poster. As noted by one letter to the editor of LA Weekly in 2004: “I’m Australian and quite appalled at L.A. Weekly’s moronic Bush-as-Dracula cover [November 5–11]. Is it supposed to be postmodernly ironic? Or is it meant to show the left-winger idiots in L.A. how tremendously clever the Weekly is?”
Hypocrites. LA Weekly enjoys dishing it out and mocking any criticism, but has a sniveling tantrum when another caricature is thrown back. Selective, whiny outcry.
I’ve also searched for any outcry from government officials over this similar (and far creepier) one of George W. Bush as The Joker that was published in Vanity Fair (with far greater exposure than a few Obama posters stapled to telephone poles in Los Angeles would ever get), to no avail.
From KTLA:
Obama ‘Joker’ Poster Causing a Stir in L.A.
August 3, 2009LOS ANGELES — A poster showing President Barack Obama as Heath Ledger’s “Joker” character from “The Dark Knight” is creating a stir on the streets of Los Angeles where the image began appearing over the weekend.
The Obama-Joker poster shows President Obama with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick and also has the word “socialism” printed in bold, dark letters under the image of his face.
It’s unclear who created the image and who is posting it across the city. No one has taken credit so far.
Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous.
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.”
The poster has also gone viral online, crashing the website that first posted images of it and rising to the top of Google’s “Today’s Hot Trends” list.
“Mean spirited,” “dangerous”… strong terms. Did Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson respond as such to this vile depiction of Bush?
MoveOn.org had a TV ad posted on its website in 2004, comparing GW Bush to Adolf Hitler. In all fairness, the site removed the ad after receiving a huge amount of complaints from Republican groups and Jewish organizations.
Snippet and photo from The Vault: Vampire George
…a painting of George W. Bush sucking blood from the neck of the Statue of Liberty. The image was created by comic book artist and illustrator Alex Ross and ran on the cover of The Village Voice in October 26, 2004 to accompany an article by Nixonland author Rick Perlstein. At the time, the image struck some on the right as offensive.
From Noel Sheppard, NewsBusters: Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much
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…
[...]
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?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you… and, less parsonical or proper, payback is a bitch.
Hat tips to these excellent posts, recommended reading and the sources of most of the photos:
American Thinker: Barack Obama, laughingstock
Tammy Bruce: You Know B. Hussein Is In Trouble When…
Big Hollywood: When is ‘Whiteface’ Okay? When the ‘New York Times’ Says So
Right Voices: Flickr Deletes Obama Caricature – Flickr – Gawker
Michelle Malkin: How quickly they forget
The Sundries Shack: The Riddler Might Have Been a Better Choice, Come to Think of It
Mail Online UK: Spoof poster of Obama’s face painted as The Joker branded ‘dangerous and mean-spirited’
Greg Gutfeld, Big Hollywood: Daily Gut: Joker Poster Boosts Obama’s Coolness
Atlas Shrugs: The Worm Turns
Washington Rebel: Yes, I Know
Bulletproof Diction: Intellectual Argument of the Day
Tim Worstall, Examiner.com: The Obama Joker poster: about time too
First Things, The Anchoress: Obama as the Joker
Alberto de la Cruz, Babalú Blog, an island on the net without a bearded dictator: Blasphemy
Noel Sheppard, NewsBusters: Obama Joker Poster Popping Up In Los Angeles
Big Hollywood: Obama as Joker: Selective Outrage From ‘LA Weekly’
Ed Driscoll: Why So Serious?
Truth Bucket: It’s Bad for Obama When…
Jim Nolte, Big Hollywood: WaPo: Bush-Joker Kinda Made Sense, Obama-Joker Racist
Legal Insurrection: Obligatorily Snarky Obama Joker Poster Post and Do Unto Obama As Obama Did Unto Bush? You Betcha
Andrew Leigh, Big Hollywood: ‘jOker’: ‘Art is What You Can Get Away With’
Clinging to G & G: Creepy Obama poster has a clear intent
Pundit & Pundette: Joker-bama kerfuffle
Hot Air: LA Weekly wets itself over Obama/Joker poster: “The only thing missing is a noose”
Scared Monkeys: Obama “Joker” Socialism Poster Popping up in LA … Demonizing the President … Since When has that been an Issue?
Conservative for Change: Liberals Up in Arms Over Obama Poster—But What About the Last 8 Years?
Blog de KingShamus: Hey, you know about the poster showing Obama as the Joker? It’s racist!
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Rush Limbaugh: Town Hall ObamaCare Protests, “All Statist” Insurance, and “Obama The Joker” Posters
John Nolte, Big Hollywood: ‘jOker’: When the Left’s Scared They Scream ‘Racist’
The Artblog: Shepard Fairey’s iconoclasm at ICA Boston
About the author
I received this article from a friend. What the heck is wrong with America? Why all the hate. I admit that the president and his policies disgust me but I don’t hate the man nor wish ill upon him. My God help us!
For that matter Bush let us all down also. We need less government, moral leaders and to regain our self reliant, God fearing, patriotic roots.
God Bless and save America,
Al
[...] Obama As The Joker, No Joking Matter… but Bush As The Joker, or … By Vicki McClure Davidson …a painting of George W. Bush sucking blood from the neck of the Statue of Liberty. The image was created by comic book artist and illustrator Alex Ross and ran on the cover of The Village Voice in October 26, 2004 to accompany an … Frugal Café Blog Zone – http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/ [...]
A poster at the LA Weekly blog said he would punch anyone he saw wearing this image “no questions asked”.
That was all the motivation I needed:
http://www.cafepress.com/4therepublic
More product will be up today.
Did the left *really* think we would forget all the stuff they did over the past 8 years? Really?
And it wasn’t just Bush, it was Cheney, Rice and anyone else they claimed was fair game, and they went whole hog racist on Secretary Rice- Payback is a bitch unto itself ain’t it?
Condi Rice???
Okay, I’m riled up again… she’s truly awesome, and now, well… maybe I need to get a shirt, too, eh?
That Obama poster creeps me out. But the whole atmosphere in this country scares me.
No one got punched out when they showed up wearing those horrid “Sarah Palin is a **nt” tshirts… Took pictures of themselves, grinning from ear to ear, and put them on the ‘net. That was okay.
Now we have the NBPP running around with bragging rights to continue voter intimidations thanks to Holder and Obama.
These are scary times.
Roxy,
I think the worse is yet to come, but with more and more Americans becoming aware of what’s transpiring, knowledge is a power that can vanquish.
Don’t lose faith or hope – I haven’t. Love you, Roxy, and love your blog!
Kudos-great creative expression. The door was opened with the anti-Bush bashing. Don’t be cry babies, or girly men! Learn to deal with it!!!!
Well done. I rarely find a blog that has really done their homework and then communicates in a compelling way. You have done just that. I will be sure to visit your site often.
One of the challenges that I see today is the references back. The Liberals like to say that Bush did it so it is okay. The conservatives like to the liberals are doing it (Clinton, Obama) so it is okay. This kind of back and forth will never end until we all start doing the right thing rather than justifying our actions based on bad behavior now or in the past.
ZingerKing.com
Thanks – I appreciate your vote of confidence and kind words. Please pop back in any time, ZingerKing (I checked out your blog… you’ve got some excellent pieces there.)
Friendly non-solicited plug (content is more liberal than conservative, but some astute commentary): ZingerKing.com
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