Wall of Reality: Obama Joker Poster-History, and a Teachable Lesson

You all know the story. Pictures of President Obama depicted in Joker makeup start showing up in Los Angelos. Then there's a website. Then t-shirts, and all of the sudden they start popping up in a few other places.

Need a refresher?

Now, before I continue, I should say I've been on the record as saying this type of display is disrespectful. Te President of the United States, regardless of what you may think of him, deserves a level of respect, both for the man and office. Too many great men have come before and will come in the future, and the office, the name and reputation needs to be respected.

However, where my opinion differs from that of many, is that I held the same beliefs while President Bush was president. Recall that after the posters first appeared popping up, liberals and especially the media began crying everything from 'racist' to 'far-right', 'ultra-conservative', 'white-supremacist' and more. They may as well have said, 'we want the head of the one responsible.'

Here's one example of not just the above, but of utter bias. Below are some clips, here's the full link

(In regards to Bush being depicted as the Joker) "That drawing at least played into a view of Bush popular among his detractors..." (Then the 'race' word comes out...again...) "So why the anonymity? Perhaps because the poster is ultimately a racially charged image." (More complaints about the anonymity) "Instead, the call was simply for the individual or groups slapping the posters up to publicly ID themselves and take credit for their work. Come forth and take public pride in branding the president a jokester and a socialist."

So the pressure was on. Charges leveled, people coming up with devious intents on why the 'artist' chose to remain anonymous.

And then...poof. The story disappears. Wait? What happened? The media and many liberals, so obsessed with decrying the poster, suddenly stopped caring.

Did they suddenly realize how biased they were being? Did the see all the downright evil posters and accusations made against President Bush during his tenure as president, and realize how they couldn't have cared less then? (More on that in the next thread. Just click on the Media Bias tag to find more.)

Nope. THIS is why the story suddenly became so unappealing. Oh, how confused they must have been.

Here's some snippets:

"...Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group or a disgruntled street artist going against the grain?
Nope, it turns out, just a 20-year-old college student from Chicago.
Bored during his winter school break, Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe’s Photoshop software...
So, now you have met L.A. Weekly/MSNBC/S.F. Chronicle/Wasington Post’s racist right-wing nut: a Kucinich-supporting kid of Palestinian heritage from Obama’s hometown. The left will have to get creative if they hope to “Joe the Plumber” this guy.
We’ll make sure to post the media’s apologies for fear mongering as they role in…"

In short, the man, not just a student, but a liberal, Palestinian, Kucinich supporter was responsible. Not whatever many liberals had crafted in their fantasy worlds. Oh how their worlds must have shattered. Can't possible go after this one, it wouldn't be 'politically correct.' (Ha!) Oh, and the reality of the situation failed to further their agenda of painting all of their opponents in a false light. (Because even they know they can't win an open and honest debate, hence the name calling.)

So what happens? Not actual journalism, but a nice vanishing act.

"Imagine for a moment the person that created the now famous Obama Joker poster was found to be a white conservative that voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin last November.Do you think Obama-loving media outlets would have reported the revelation?
Probably 24 hours a day for the next couple of weeks until the episode became a "teachable moment" and the perpetrator was forced to have a beer with the President and Vice President.
Yet, when the Los Angeles Times reported early Monday evening the artist was a liberal-leaning Palestinian, most press members couldn't have cared less.
LexisNexis and Google news searches identified the following major media outlets completely ignored the story:

• The Associated Press
• Reuters
• AFP
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• USA Today
• ABC
• CBS
• NBC
• MSNBC"

More here.

So there you have it. While it could have furthered an agenda, it was 24/7, must see news. When reality hit, the story is swept under the rug. And the Main Stream Media wonders why it's tanking in the ratings department.