Remember that Indelible Image of a Boy’s Pat on Obama’s Head?
You know, the one that was so indelible that no one remembered it, and the NY Times felt compelled to remind you how indelible it was with a headline “Indelible Image of Boy’s Pat on Obama’s Head.”
Memeorandum capatured the headline, as did Google Cache:
It was an effort worthy of September 2008, with a focus on race and the historic racial implications of Obama’s race and the role race will play in an election and what race means in the race. And it all was indelible!
As a candidate and as president, Mr. Obama has avoided discussing race except in rare instances when he seemed to have little choice — responding to the racially incendiary words of his former pastor, for example, or to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida. Some black leaders criticize Mr. Obama for not directly addressing young blacks or proposing policies specifically for them.Yet the photo is tangible evidence of what polls also show: Mr. Obama remains a potent symbol for blacks, with a deep reservoir of support. As skittish as White House aides often are in discussing race, they also clearly revel in the power of their boss’s example.
Ann Althouse properly characterized the effort:
NYT digs back 3 years into the photo files to find something super-sentimental…… in a touching effort at boosting the Obama reelection campaign.Kudos, NYT! You’ve made it all very clear.
In fact, it was an effort so transparently obsequious that even the NY Times could not stomach the headline, changing it to “When a Boy Found a Familiar Feel in a Pat of the Head of State.”
If you had any doubt that the general election had started, these indelible images should disabuse you of that notion.
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