Competing chyrons: Obama = success, Obama = Muslim

GottaLaff

I had the TeeVee on without sound this morning, after watching part of Barack Obama's Q & A with the press. One chyron described his visit to Iraq in a relatively positive way. In addition, I did have the sound on long enough to hear a unanimously favorable response to Obama's trip, including the press conference. "No mistakes" so far, the talking heads said.

Then I walked away, came back a few minutes later, and saw a chyron that said that Iraqis are referring to Obama as "Muslim".

That chyron came and went several times. If I hadn't seen the previous reporting, I'd have been left with the impression that Iraq views Obama as Muslim, and that, generally, they are not too interested in either candidate. But Obama = Muslim. Obama = Muslim. Obama = Muslim was the cycled and recycled visual.

Couple that with this, and once again, the reinforcement that Obama "is not one of us" rears its ugly head. Once again, the New Yorker cover was not a good move, and the satire will be lost on many, despite the intentions. Every time there is another reference that couples Obama with the word (or image) "Muslim", there will be a deeper misunderstanding of who he is.

I'm sure the McCain/Bushies were jumping up and down with glee as they took screenshots of the chyron in question, one that will undoubtedly be highlited in future ads.