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Signs and seals

By Michael J. Smith on Monday June 23, 2008 11:15 AM

You saw it here first. Several days ago we noted that the Obama camapign seemed to be experimenting with a new, amped-up, patriotic upgrade to the soothing Obama blue-pill logo:

That version doesn't seem to have been entirely satisfactory. Here's the latest:

In case you can't make out the Latin inscription above the ruptured duck there, it's "VERO POSSUMUS", which is a reasonably good translation of "Yes we can."

Amazing, really, how Obama's formerly almost perfect-pitch campaign has taken this sudden plunge into laughable bathetic grandiosity. The New-Dealish blocky sans-serif type -- the constipated, chalky colors -- the frathouse Latin -- and above all, the splayed, two-dimensional eagle, a bird of very ill omen indeed.

All in all, it reminds me irresistibly of the new uniforms Nixon once designed for his palace guard:

Comments (10)

Nicholas Hart:

The eagle sure looks a lot WHITER...

plato's cave:

Aren't those arrows in the claws of the eagle, symbolizing martial readiness? Or are they fasces?

Michael Hureaux:

You're putting us on. Are you sure this isn't from the Onion?

It works:

"Playing possum with the truth"

Sadly -- or perhaps not so sadly -- no, it's for real, as I also spotted it on the Drudge Report this morning:
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080620/capt.003d2c72499f41c39003beeac3b60770.obama_2008_political_play_of_the_day_ilab102.jpg?x=221&y=345&sig=LniSlpT8_ta81yX28Ci8ZQ--
...and found myself in ultra-rare agreement with Drudge when he responded, basically, "WTF?"

Non Illegitimati Carborundum!

Those eagle claws look fierce I guess. It's not a sissy eagle is the point? The other one is more curvy, this guy is all sharp angles. And those splayed legs cover the country from coast to coast... oh yeck!

ktm:

The arrows are to reach out to bow hunters and bitter gun nuts. That's hemp in the other claw, signifying that he still wants the progressive vote, too. The thing that creeps me out is that he's subverting the seal of the US, like his presidency is going to supplant the past and usher in a new era. Either that or the cocky bastard thinks he's president already.

So do you think he actually gives the nod to all this imagery, or is there a committee that just springs these things on him during their morning meetings?

ktm:

Obama has thrown the eagle under the bus. I wonder if some graphic designer is going to incriminate himself and leave the Obama campaign in shame, Samantha Powers style.

Son of Uncle Sam:

On second view it sort of looks like a casino chip claiming no denomination. A gamble?
The kings of these gimmicks live right here in the bay state and sleep w/ the 62 billion item potato Buffet, one of these marketeers has been MIA on a mission to reach the stars on broadway. Or perhaps an intricate cover... Barry are you campaigning w. Bo'Ba?
On the downpours of image imagination I think the best quote might be Billy Murray's from Caddyshack,"I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for a while."

Two Quiz Questions

1. Who is “the most respected political figure in America”?

2. What does the asker's idea of the correct answer suggest about a) the asker, b) her "party," and c) the walking disease/purported correct answer?

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