Norah: What Gives With Obama's God-like Shtick?

Between Maureen Dowd's column of this morning and Norah O'Donnell's questioning of an Obama spokesman this afternoon, it looks like Barack's halo is losing its glow in some MSM sectors. Obama spokesman Bill Burton was O'Donnell's guest just after 3 PM EDT, and she read to him from Dowd's column, which he jokingly professed not to have read.

NORAH O'DONNELL [reading Dowd]: "Ed Rendell compared Obama to the passive-aggressive Adlai Stevenson and told the Washington Post that Obama gives six-minute answers and "is not exactly the easiest guy in the world to identify with."

Boos from the pro-Obama crowd in Denver.

O'DONNELL: There is this sense that he is not the easiest guy to identify with: the Republicans say "celebrity." And already today I'm hearing from Republicans that Invesco Field Thursday night, he is going to be stepping out from some Greek-columned stage that we have pictures of [see screencap], and he, this god-like deity once again. How are you going to combat that criticism that the Republicans say, once again, Barack Obama, uh, is, um, trying to be god-like?

View video here.

BILL BURTON [chuckling]: Oh my gosh! That's just silly.

Norah joined in the laughter.

BURTON: We're not going to apologize for the fact that there's tremendous enthusiasm out there for changing our country, and Barack Obama's been running a campaign with a lot of energy and a lot of folks who really want to change the way things get done in Washington.

And that explains Obama's decision to portray himself as a  Greek god just how?

O'DONNELL:  Some of the criticism after the speech in Germany and a number of the people who were out there, and as one Republican said to me today, "what is he, Perseus trying to save the world?" I mean, what is with the set, the Greek columns?

BURTON: I don't know who Perseus is, but I hope he is somebody trying to bring fundamental change to Washington.

With the benefit of hindsight and Google I can say with assurance that among his exploits, Perseus slew Medusa, the woman so horrid that merely looking at her turned a man to stone.  Hmm.

Far be it from me to sow dissension in the ranks of the Obama campaign, but my two cents say Burton comes across considerably more candid and affable than Communications Director Robert Gibb.  Here's a NYT article about Burton with some background on Burton. Speaking of Obama aides, has anyone seen the lugubrious David Axelrod lately?

In any case, what does it say about the Dem candidate that his spokesman was unable to explain the Greek-columns or the bigger question as to why Obama seeks to present himself like a modern-day deity?