Don't be disingenuous, GfS.

This kind of appeal to the prejudices of the stupid and mean-spirited is not new, especially recently. One of the first examples I saw of this sort of thing (photoshopping for the purpose of providing bogus "evidence" for a lie) was in the 2004 Presidential midterm election between John Kerry and George W. Bush. The Right Wing was trying to paint Kerry as a "peacenik" and claim that he would be totally inept in dealing with "our enemies in the Middle East." To emphasize their point, they circulated a photograph of Kerry sitting at a table on stage before a big crowd of placard-waving demonstrators—and he was sitting beside Jane Fonda. This "peace rally" was supposed to have taken place during the 2004 campaign.

During the time that this gathering was supposed to have occurred, Jane Fonda was in Mexico. And she went directly from there to Sweden. Neither Fonda nor Kerry was actually AT this supposed "rally," which is probably just as well, because it never took place.

This photograph had been put together from photos taken of Fonda at such a meeting some years before, and the one of Kerry had been taken at an entirely different gathering, and Jane Fonda wasn't even there. One of the discrepancies that some sharp-eyed person caught was that whoever had done the photoshop job had to "mirror image" the photo of Kerry to get it to fit where they wanted it, beside Jane Fonda. Kerry's wrist watch was on the wrong wrist! Boo-boo!! And to those who noticed, a dead giveaway. Along with that, the shadows were all wrong!

No one knows for sure who put this on the internet, but consensus has it that it was the so-called "swift-boaters."

You may have seen some of these examples of Photoshop Art. Several months back, there was someone here on Mudcat who was posting links to a lot of Right Wing material, and also putting stuff called "the Mudcat Pages" on the internet, trying to illustrate what a collection of fools, dupes, socialists, and traitors Mudcatters are.

Offhand, I can't recall the handle the guy used, but he was one sick puppy. His stuff was really slimy! And as far as I know, he's gone. At least he hasn't been active lately.

First of all, as to the "genuineness" of the particular photograph in question:   I've seen a number of photos of this nature (all Photoshopped), including one of Obama supposedly salaaming on a prayer rug at a mosque. And of Obama wearing headgear and beard like Osama wore. And in which Obama is wearing a leotard and a tutu, rather like a dancer in one of Degas' paintings. And several others, trying to create an image of him as a gay Muslim who was born in Kenya—or Indonesia. The individual posting this stuff on the internet couldn't make up his mind which country Obama was born in. And he was a bit bewildered by geography. He didn't seem to know where in the world these two countries really were—Indonesia is not in Africa, nor is Kenya in the South Pacific).

That photo is just more of the same kind of propaganda designed to appeal to the baser bigotries of the Great Unwashed.

Now, let's get real. Well, at least TRY.

What I find offensive about that picture is not the subject matter, but the motivation behind it, and the assumption it makes about how some people will take it. And, of course, the assumption IS correct. There are quite a few wall-eyed bigots out there.

As far as I am concerned, as long as you are making assumptions about what I may or may not find offensive, I do not believe Obama is gay (if he were, I think that might come as a bit of a surprise to Michelle). But—I know a fair number of gay people whose gender orientation does not, in any way, affect their work (two of whom happen to be state legistlators). So even IF Obama were gay, it would not matter one single bit to me, nor would it affect HIS ability to govern in any way.

And what he may or may not chose to do in private is his own, and nobody else's, business, because IT DOESN"T EFFECT anyone else.

People who go about dwelling on other peoples' sexuality all the time are saying far more about themselves than they are about anyone else.

Don Firth