The Upside to the "Dressed" Photo

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Tuesday February 26, 2008 · 12:27 PM PST

2008/02/26 · 12:27

Watching the press coverage over the past 24 hours on this dust-up over the Obama photo, I see two common themes emerging from most of the coverage, and both of them are to the benefit of Senator Obama.

Follow below for some insights...

Here's the first plus for Obama -

As silly as this picture story is, it is getting a lot of press around the country. This helps Obama further knock down the story that he is some sort of secret muslim:

Newsday:

Obama, whose mother was from Kansas and whose father was Kenyan, has been the subject of an e-mail campaign pointing out that his middle name is "Hussein" and falsely identifying him as Muslim

Chicago Tribune

But the sensitivities are intense in this case, because Obama is wearing a turban. In December, two Iowa volunteers for Clinton resigned after forwarding an e-mail that falsely said Obama is a Muslim possibly intent on destroying the U.S. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ.

BBC News

A campaign volunteer was sacked last year after circulating an email suggesting, falsely, that Mr Obama was a Muslim.

In December, two Clinton Iowa volunteers resigned after forwarding a hoax e-mail that falsely said Obama is a Muslim possibly intent on destroying the United States. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and says he has never been a Muslim, but false rumors about Islamic ties are circulating on the Internet.

The other bonus for Obama from this story is a bit less tangible and not in the print stories. Watching the various talking heads on my TeeVee discuss this flap I repeated heard them summarize the story this way:

"President's and World Leaders often wear the local clothing when visiting other countries."

This framing puts Obama on the same level as Presidents, Dignitaries and World Leaders. It elevates him to an "already-ran" status. He wears the mantle of a President.

Poll
89 votes Show Results
Does this photo help or hurt Obama?

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Hurts

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679

89 votes Vote Now!
Does this photo help or hurt Obama?

Helps

31 votes

Hurts

10 votes

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679

48 votes

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