Barack Obama debuted his own version of a potential presidential seal at a meeting in Chicago today. Compare the various presidential seals in photos below.
Obama Presidential Seal
Presidential hopeful and The One Who Promises Hope and Change to the Masses, Barack Obama, attended a meeting of a handful of democratic governors today in Chicago. It was a discussion-type forum and the democratic governors sat in more or less normal seats with name plates placed in front of them as is the custom in these types of meetings. Obama, however, sat above them all behind a low rostrum as is the custom of mini-gods who are forced to continue to roam the earth for reasons we mere humans can’t fathom.
In front of the rostrum behind which The Obamessiah sat was not a nameplate, but a seal that had all the earmarks of being official. You know, like when you go to Mexico and all these people meet you at your plane with name tags and official looking uniforms and tell you they represent some company or the other and try to get you to buy a special deal? You know, the ones that just dress like that and after you buy the special deal you realize that they aren’t associated with any organization and just disappeared into the crowd with the money you just traded them for a piece of official looking paper that means nothing? Yeah, that kind of official looking seal.
It made for quite an impressive sight. The symbolism was obvious, even though the marketing company that created the Obama Presidential Seal probably hoped to send a subliminal message with it. If that is the case, they succeeded in being as subtle as two trains colliding on a major thoroughfare during afternoon rush hour.
Just like with the guys in the Cancun airport, this new presidential seal warrants a closer look before we trade dollars for thin air.
As with all things Obama, the seal is not about the country, but about Obama. The One Who Brings Hope for Change and Makes Women Faint and Men Cry has the big O in the middle of his seal (get it - that’s for his name). It also contains Obama’s presidential campaign logo. Across the top it declares, ‘Obama for America’ and the bottom gives his website address. In the place of America’s motto, E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one) it has the Obamanation motto, ‘Vero Possumus’ (sorta, kinda translated to ‘Yes We Can’).
And THAT, my friends, is the kind of branding you can buy when you have unlimited financial resources.
Presidential Seal - Photos
Update: Is it legal to reproduce the presidential seal? Is it presumptuous? Does it just kind of look embarrassingly pretentious and elitist?
Update: Of course, this is being debated all over the place. Here’s a video of a debate about how the seal is being used by the Obama campaign.
Presidential Seal - Video
June 20th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
good grief. you’d think he was running for president of earth or something. he’s really annoying me.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I see nothing wrong with this at all. Obama hopes to be President. It’s not a perversion of the Presidential Seal–it’s sort of a take off on it. It’s not the American flag or anything sacred like that. So what? I mean, he is going to be the Democrat [sic] nominee, no? It is sort of like saying, I hope to trade this in for the real thing. Hey, you got to come up with something better than this to shoot him down [sic].
June 20th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
LOL, he is like a little kid playing at president. Next thing we know he’ll build a White House out of play dough.
By the way doesn’t “Vero Possumus” mean “hopechangery” in Latin?
June 20th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I am glad this is coming out - Obama has had his own brand of a Presidential Seal right on his web site. No one has noticed. That one Does say …”E Pluribus Unum” on it. I wrote about it over 3 months ago. The one on his site carries an African Spear rather than 13 arrows…
http://obamacom.blogspot.com/2008/04/obamas-presidential-seal_29.html
Be careful what you Vote for -
June 20th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Edward [sic] - I personally don’t think there’s anything innately evil in him doing this. He just looks kinda silly sitting behind this big ostentatious spit and polished logo/seal [sic] while the other dozen or so participants [sic] in the meeting are sitting behind your everyday average name plate. It LOOKS pretentious and just plain silly. [sic]
Like McCain said - its like a kid playing president. [sic] Its kind of embarrassing to look at. Especially the pic of him that shows the other meeting participants - he stands out like … kind of like his ears stand out from his head, ya know? [sic]
June 20th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
McCain - I think hopechangery is a much better interpretation of ‘Vero Possumus’. I read that the literal translation is ‘Truly we’re able’. That’s apparently as close as they could get to ‘Yes We Can’ in Latin.
Or it could mean ‘opossum’. I read that somewhere tonight, so it must be so.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Zoey - I couldn’t say it better myself! He is really getting on my nerves too. His arrogance and the sound of his voice is just ANNOYING!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
like a wittle gnat beth… a wittle, ity bity gnat.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Beth, how can you say Obama is a kid playing at being President. He’s gong to RUN for President on the Democratic ticket, for Christ’s sake! You just don’t like Obama, that’s all.
Ears? Ever look at Bush’s ears?
June 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Edward - yes, Bush has ears, but that doesn’t mean that Obama’s ears don’t stick out. You can have more than one person whose ears stick out. In fact, its not that uncommon. The fact that I noted that Obama’s ears stick out doesn’t mean that someone else’s, even Bush’s, don’t. They aren’t mutually exclusive
Regardless of the fact that Obama got the democratic nomination for the Presidency doesn’t mean he doesn’t look like a child sitting behind that big ol’ pretentious sign.
You’re right - I don’t like Obama, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t look silly sitting there with that huge advertisement in front of him while everyone else has ‘normal’ name plates.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
But everyone else is not Obama, Beth. Everyone else it not running for President. He looks silly to your eyes, maybe not to others’ eyes.
I agree that humility is a virtue.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:33 am
Edward, you are right. I’m just writing my opinion. It doesn’t surprise me that others might see that as his rightful place and not view it as silly or arrogant in the least.
I agree that humility is a virtue and, in my opinion, Obama could use a little bit of humility. It would make him a tad more palatable. He comes across to me as arrogant in the extreme.
See - we found a common ground!
June 21st, 2008 at 6:11 am
Does it really matter what Obama uses as campaign seals, crests, or whatever you want to call it? All I know is we need massive changes in Washington, we need to get rid of the current thieves and get people in power that can save the middle class. Remember you rich white boys can stay rich because the middle class pays all the taxes, buys the $4.00 a gallon gas, pays their bills and basically subsidizes your fat bloated lifestyles.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:20 am
Ed and Bill, would you rather we talk about the substance of “hope.” When the public is presented with a naive nominee with no experience, you have to look for clues into his character. This just makes him look like such a dope, don’t you agree? By the way Bill, Obama is as corrupt a Chicago politician as any who came before. You do know about his free house, don’t ya?
June 21st, 2008 at 9:29 am
The funny thing is that any time Obama does something gaffish or associates with terrorists or rac*sts its the same response like Bill had. This is all a distraction from hopechangery, we gotta run the thieves out of Washington blah blah blah. How anyone who thinks that the product of one of the most notorious political machines in this country is going to accomplish anything like you think he will is beyond me.
I’m really beginning to wonder if anything could come out about Obama that would turn you guys off. I mean, he’s already the most liberal candidate ever, he thinks high gas prices are a good thing and you better believe he’ll think raising your taxes is a good thing. I hope that kool-aide takes damn good.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I wonder what the American Flag will look like when he is finished revamping it to his liking. All Nancy did was want new WH china.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:05 am
Wow, look at all the people who’ve suddenly decided, in the last two days, that the seal is the most sacred of images.
Pity that all you experts on America don’t know enough about it to know that the iconography is actually from the Great Seal, and not at all unique to the Presidential one.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:37 am
Barack’s Seal is pure cheeseball, pretentious, and juvenile. Will SNL jump all over this? I doubt it. With that seal it would be fitting for BHO to wear a Burger King crown when he is at the podium. I think he might be a malignant narcissist.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
That eagle should be holding someones wallet instead of the arrows.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Ed;
“It’s not the American flag or anything sacred like that.”
Yea, he completely left it out.
Bill;
“Does it really matter what Obama uses as campaign seals, crests, or whatever you want to call it?”
Yea, of course it matters.
Everything in any campaign is always well thought out and strategically planed. They didnt just whip this out in some store room real quick because they thought they had to fill some space.
This goes to arrogance and presumtion all the way.
“All I know is we need massive changes in Washington, we need to get rid of the current thieves and get people in power that can save the middle class.”
God, I wish I had a buck for everytime that slogan has been run off by libs at every election I’ve ever heard.
And thats right. Thats all they know. What they want and need and not a clue ever of how to obtain it.
“Remember you rich white boys can stay rich because the middle class pays all the taxes, buys the $4.00 a gallon gas, pays their bills and basically subsidizes your fat bloated lifestyles.”
Remember, its the rich who are the ones who supply Americans with jobs and pay a much larger percentage in taxes than bottom feeders and entitlement freaks.
Lunacy, pure lunacy. 4.oo gas is 4.00 gas for the rich or the poor.
Try filling up a fleet of vans or cars if you company depends on such a means. Or paying the elctricity bill at any factory or large business that has any substantial amount of employees.
It works more in the favor of the fat bloated lazy farts who claim uniqueness and minority of some sort that lay around and collect welfare, foodstamps and free medical at my cost.
Subsidize you say ?
Thats a laugh.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Bad - try having a sense of humor. It makes life much more tolerable.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:50 am
It’s not really about the “sacredness” of the seal, but the choices he made upon puttinsg stuff on the seal. It’s kind of like one of the wise, King Solomon questions. God would grant Solomon anything he wanted and instead of wealth, women, everlasting life of earth, (whatever) he asked for humility and wisdom. Obama didn’t put something on the seal about America, but an “o” for Obama which shows something about his character. What you put on the seal should say what you think the Presidential position should represent and he puts HIMSELF on the seal. What’s next, His face on all our money??
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Jesus you people are INCREDIBLE! First, it is not a change to the Presidential seal, it is a podium seal that is a take off on the Presidential seal to point you to the Obama website!!
The irony is in the same stroy they show how the seal has changed DRAMATICALLY from 1945 to today!!
PLEASE, after the War, Oil, flagging economy debaucle of this ex Oil executive stacked, neo con invade Iraq (PNAC) stacked admin. can we get away from the sad scare mongering of the ignorant right media and get real change in place!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Will 4,000 American servicemen and over 150,000 Iraqi’s die from this podium decoration?
Will Oil increase 400% as it has under an administration that contained 46 ex oil executives???
Will it make Obama a family friend of the Saudi Royal family like W?
Will it make the U.S. dollar decrease to it’s lowest levels in history as it has under W?
Will it sit back and watch the number of Billionaires explode while we in the middle continue to foot the bill for this Country as has been the case under W? Last year was the first year having $1B did not qualify you for the Fortune 400 richest Americans, if you had a billion you were one of the 400 richest Americans…84 Billionaires did not make the Fortune 400 last year!! Over 100 new Billionaires in one year!!!!
I understand that ignorance is bliss, but you ignorant ditto heads are just making the Con media richer while ENDANGERING this Country!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Will Obamaheads get a job?