ABC's Tapper Lampoons Messianic Portraiture of Obama

June 2nd, 2008 12:10 PM

Just as a quick follow-up to both Terry Trippany and Warner Todd Huston's posts, at least one major political reporter is chagrined by the MSM's penchant for selecting photographs of Sen. Barack Obama that make him appear rather, um, messianic.

From Jake Tapper's Political Punch blog at ABCNews.com:

There is Born to You This Day in the City of Chicago a Savior

June 02, 2008 10:19 AM

Rt_obama_080602_blog And His name is Barack the Democrat.

General election project for Political Punch readers: Let's keep track of how many Holy images of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, make their way into print.

(And bad ones, if any. And of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., let's keep track as well -- photos of him looking heavenly or, conversely, old and feeble.)

- jpt

Apparently Tapper's been getting some complaints that his post was anti-Christian or anti-religious, so he added an update to emphasize for the sarcasm-challenged that his target is the media, not religious folks:

UPDATE: To anyone who thinks I am mocking God or religion with this post. I am not. I am mocking the images some in the media are using to portray Sen. Obama. Such as the Reuters photo above. Or this DaVincian New York Magazine image. Or this cover of Rolling Stone. No disrespect towards God or persons of faith intended at all. The jesting is not aimed at religion, God, or Sen. Obama -- but rather those pushing these Holy Images of the Illinois senator who is, after all, but a man.