Markos "Kos" Moulitsas has bought into the latest loopy conspiracy theory spinning around the left-wing Web.: that the Hillary Clinton campaign deliberately darkened a photo of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to make him appear darker in skin tone than he actually is.
But as Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs points out Markos and other
...morons are hyperventilating over videos they are watching via the internet, and assuming that the orangey color of Obama’s face in one video is somehow “genuine,” while the desaturated color and slightly different aspect ratio in the Clinton video is a nefarious racist plot.
That sounds about right. Here at NewsBusters, we often make basic color and contrast adjustments for video captures from network TV. If we posted photos from TV screen captures without doing so, everyone would appear darker, regardless of their race or ethnic background.
Besides, Johnson points out, following Kossack logic, the Associated Press would be playing the race card too while oddly enough the Black College Wire is making Obama whiter:
Hey, Kos, here’s a tip: the Associated Press is playing racist color tricks too! Look how dark Obama is in this photo!
UPDATE at 3/5/08 12:00:38 pm:
And what about this? Is the Black College Wire lightening Obama? HBCUs Figure in Obama’s Campaign Strategy. (Hat tip: zombie.)
Layers within layers, people. The conspiracy goes very deep.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Maybe the photos are real
March 5, 2008 - 17:26 ET by Mica the MagnificentMaybe Obama has a touch of the Michael Jackson syndrome?
Like beauty, it can only go
March 5, 2008 - 17:29 ET by Hunter12Like beauty, it can only go skin deep.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
Ken --You've exposed
March 5, 2008 - 17:31 ET by spiderdanKen --
You've exposed another of the umpteenth thousand hypocrisies that exist in the liberal camp. You do yeoman's duty with these things, and we always seek to find a cogent or innovative method of analyzing them (pop psychology with liberals is akin to administering heavy doses of Castor oil to a constipated fat man).
Only a wimpering simp can tolerate five paragraphs of any DailyKos post. It's absolutely frightening to think these people could be driving a car next to me and my family. One has to continually wonder: when are they going to take out the guardrail and plunge over the proverbial cliff, and who do they intend to take with them?
'twas nothin'
March 5, 2008 - 18:13 ET by Ken ShepherdAfter all, Chas. Johnson of LGF did the heavy lifting there. Just pointing out what he's written.
Pathetic.
March 5, 2008 - 17:38 ET by Dave in TexasThat's hilarious. However, it's also just taste of the accusations that will be slung at Republicans if Obama ends up being the nominee. EVERYTHING will be racist. "McCain suggested that Obama doesn't have the necessary experience! Racist!"
more like
March 5, 2008 - 18:24 ET by UndercoverConservative"Are you sayin' a black man can't be experienced?!"
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
I know someone that has
March 5, 2008 - 17:43 ET by stratmanI know someone that has taken photos of Obama for newspapers. He has removed the mole found slightly above Obama's left nostril before submitting the picture. What nefarious activity is he engaged in?
RRAM Tough!
speaking of color
March 5, 2008 - 17:59 ET by soosandoes this mean that Saturday Night Live is off the hook?
Hey
March 5, 2008 - 18:10 ET by bigtimerHey soosan....
ROFL...excellent point ya' got there!
Wished I would of thought of that...since I didn't sure glad you did...that so far has made my day.
Not with their shameless
March 5, 2008 - 18:11 ET by stratmanNot with their shameless advocacy for a particular candidate.
Preemptively, I will also say they are not off the hook about only slamming the Republican candidate without balance in the coming months. Then again, it is SNL and one should not expect parity of treatment as a Republican and/or Conservative.
RRAM Tough!
ink blot
March 5, 2008 - 18:17 ET by the mad poleIt's like an ink blot, some see a muslim in denial and some see an oreo cookie.
"It's like an ink blot,
March 5, 2008 - 18:58 ET by ckc1227"It's like an ink blot, some see a muslim in denial and some see an oreo cookie."
And some of us see a stone cold socialist, no matter how light or dark his skin, or whether his middle name is Hussein or Harold.
What are these people afraid of, that we'll discover Obama is black? Newsflash, Kosmonauts: that cats already out of the bag.
Here ya go!
March 5, 2008 - 18:23 ET by heldmywhttp://screencast.co...
These are the offending pix.
I took them into an antique copy of PhotoShop, and made the lighter one dark and the darker one light (I don't really know what he looks like.)
http://screencast.co...
What was required? A simple adjustment of 'lightness' and 'saturation'... that's all.
Any video software would have thes adjustments, and, even if computers weren't used, to adjust the playback from a broadcast videotape machine would require turning 2 knobs...slightly
Was it intentional? Who knows?
But it's darned easy to do, even for a relative newbie.
Common
March 5, 2008 - 19:59 ET by Gat New YorkIt is all too common for many years that political commercials have the "hero" in full bright colors and the opponent in dark, subdued gray tones.
Also is making Obama a little darker going to tell anyone something they already don't know? He's African American. Period.
Markos is losing it because his mighty Koz Kidz lost with Ned Lamont, then John Edwards, and soon with Obama.
The losers that frequent
March 5, 2008 - 20:06 ET by Clear thinkerThe losers that frequent Daily Kos see a conspiracy in the underwear they buy. Something about cutting off blood to their brains or something.
"Abstain from McCain"