Coated Layer Of Grace

Even among voices that have been extremely even-handed over the past week or so, there has been a lot of disappointment around the 'sphere regarding the anti-Obama remarks issued yesterday by BET President and Clinton surrogate, Robert Johnson.

What I haven't heard discussed, however, were the visual trappings surrounding those remarks.

For Obama partisans, the blasphemy was likely heightened by situating Johnson's public presence that day in a house of worship.  From the Clinton side of the coin, however, the setting interjected a dissonance between the day's picture and Johnson's words, as if a visual dose of piety might lend a coated layer of grace to the offending executive and his words.

(click for full sizes)

To the extent this attack also had Hillary's fingerprints on it -- at least, as suggested by the photo WAPO ran of Clinton and Johnson together in church (link) -- the day's other "worship action shots," starting with the first image above, offer similar warding off.

From the vicarious morality boost provided by Rev. Richard Dozier's finger; to the grounding effect of being situated between those two angelic girls; to the effect of splitting the space between the Reverend and Mr. Johnson; the only thing that possible breaks the "sanctity show" is that little matter of the Secret Service agent accompanying the choir.

Controversy Over MLK Remarks Continues (UPDATED) Carpetbagger
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Race Talk updated (Taylor Marsh)

(image 1& 3: Elise Amendola/AP.  image 2, 4 & 5: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters. All Northminster Presbyterian Church. Columbia, S.C. January 13, 2008. via YahooNews)

Comments

[jonst]

My general impression, and the impression of a group of people around me, is...they both are coming off as ineffective, small minded, and foolish leaders, who can't control their own people. They are both good candidates for the general election....and either of them is heads and tails above any from the GOP. And yet they both seem to be determined to throw the natural advantage the Dems have this year (i.e. BushCo fatigue)away.

[Bluegrass Poet]

I agree with jonst. I think they're both playing the race card and taking the low ground. I do, however, think there's a certain Obama! mindset that says you can't criticize him.

[tina]

This sort of thing is why I really don't like Hillary, and like Edwards much better.

Also, Hillary is the only Dem who really stands a good chance of losing. That's right: LOSING. I don't care how much money she's got or how much the media loves her. The repubs are galvanized into renewed efforts by the mere mention of her, and many Dems are ambivalent about her--ambivalent enough to stay home on election day.

Hillary could lose it for the Dems. Edwards won't. The hair joke will get old real fast, and there is nothing else on Edwards. Absolutely nothing. He's as close to squeaky clean as it is humanly possible to get...and his health care plan just may possibly work!

[mcc]

I agree with jonst. I think they're both playing the race card and taking the low ground.

In what way is the Obama campaign playing the race card?

[jonst]

mcc....in having their aides push the theory that voters in NH lied to pollsters about who they were going to vote. In grossly, and repeatedly, distorting what Clinton (Hillary) said about King and Johnson. Same with Bill with regards to "fairy tale' allegation. Oh, not Obama himself....but his aides. The same way that Hillary is doing. She is distorting what Obama's voting record is. She is distorting his Iraq war position. And now she is hyping the fact (and I think it is a fact)that some are playing the race card against her. What she should be doing, as Obama should be doing, is putting this fire out as fast as possible. To be sure....the media is the main party pushing these stories...but the camps are giving them plenty of material, which they feel free to exaggerate, repeatedly. In the end it reflects, I suggest, poorly on both of them.

[zarathud23]

did you arrange that near-upside-down cross of photos on purpose? icing on the cake of the post, I thought.

[The BAG]

Yep.