February 10, 2007

Obama: "I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement."

Not only is he in, but he's leveraged his book title word "audacity" into the announcement. But it does take audacity and presumptuousness to run for President. I find myself instinctively resisting anyone who comes forward just for thinking they deserve it, when, really, no one does. So I find it appealing to come out and say it's presumptuous. Perhaps he sees greater advantage in calling himself "presumptuous" than other candidates would. He's challenging us, in a sense, implying that he knows what we might be thinking and thereby nudging us have such thoughts.

Here's his logo:



According to the linked WaPo article, the logo is the initial "O" -- I agree! -- and it "evokes a rising sun" -- I am more willing to believe that it was meant to evoke the rising sun than that it actually does. I do think the curved red and white stripes at the bottom seem like -- in addition to the flag -- the surface of the earth, specifically farmland. (Iowa!) The blue at the top is certainly the sky. So the hollow center ought to be the sun. You can't make it yellow or it wil ruin the red, white, and blue effect, which is absolutely required. (When's the last time a presidential campaign had a logo that wasn't red, white, and blue?) I see more of an empty center, which is needed for the "O" effect, but which does have a problematic metaphorical meaning.

But we'll see now if he serves up some substance or if it's all empty calories.

46 comments:

The Emperor said...

He's the best political speaker I've ever seen (with the caveat that I'm not that old). That is going to take him a long way.

Anonymous said...

The symbol looks like a piece of breakfast cereal. Small, brittle, and prone to mushiness.

Obama has a perfect 100 percent rating from the ADA, the self-described "liberal activist" Americans for Democratic Action.

http://www.adaction.org/ADATodayVR2005.pdf

That's all you need to know before you cast your vote.

Joseph said...

Without expressing any views on Obama himself, I think the logo works well. I like it! But I'm not sure how much impact logos actually have on elections.

Bissage said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Diane said...

Ann, not Iowa. Definitely Illinois farm fields.

Maxine Weiss said...

He's Black.

Bissage said...

I think the logo looks great. There seems to be a radiating “ghost” image that starts inside the “O” that, together with the lighter-than-standard red, white and blue that gets darker toward the edges, and along with everything else, evokes a newly planted seed full of potential about to grow strong. The very logo itself seems audacious, just like any living thing that dares to achieve its full potential against the odds. I think the logo is magnificent!

One other thing though. That word: audacious. That’s pretty close to uppity which is a word I used to hear fairly frequently tacked onto the front of another word that’s not nice at all. That Obama has turned that word back on itself and made it his own, . . ., well, . . ., I say good for him!

Dave TN said...

OK, I'm updating my notebook.

Presumptuous and audacious: OK
Articulate: bad

What happens if Shawn Hannity calls him presumptuous?

It's a pretty good logo. It's a good thing they don't include logos next to the candidates name on the ballot or I'm sure there are folks that would base their vote on it.

Bissage said...

Ann Althouse said: “But we'll see now if he serves up some substance or if it's all empty calories.

What with that photo of a peppermint candy, is our hostess suggesting that Meg White should be Obama’s official campaign drummer? Sweet!

Goatwhacker said...

I think the logo looks wonderful, and I'm not a Obama supporter in the least. The blue is indeed the sky but also evokes rainbows and bridges. Somebody did a nice job with that one.

Simon said...

What George said, but to make it worse, his dishonesty continues to bug me.

bearing said...

I agree with the commenters mentioning bridges, farmland, etc. That's a great logo. I wonder who designed it.

Unknown said...

Looks like the AT&T logo to me.

Ann Althouse said...

Dave TN said..."Presumptuous and audacious: OK
Articulate: bad. What happens if Shawn Hannity calls him presumptuous?"

Self-deprecation is different from deprecation by others. As is self praise.

Wade Garrett said...

Empty calories? Right, because we look for substance from all of our presidential candidates (George W. Bush).

tiggeril said...

He hadn't announced already? Was that a pre-announcement announcement?


I'm not voting for the guy, but good for him.

Bruce Hayden said...

Nice logo. I think it also fits in well with "clean".

One of the things that kills many Democrats at the national level is that they are seen as doom and gloomers. The successful ones seem to be the optimistic ones, and this logo seems to fit that nicely. A new sunrise. A new beginning, or whatever.

vbspurs said...

Logo is indeed "clean" as Bruce said.

But it's also a bit vanilla, don't you think? Shouldn't he, rather bland to begin with, jazz it up Batman-style with POW! ZONK! colours?

That blue isn't Merkin blue, for one.

Is he running for the Presidency of Paraguay?

This means fark all to his promise as a candidate, and the ultimate message of his campaign.

But since we're talking about logos, and all.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

But we'll see now if he serves up some substance or if it's all empty calories.

The first candidate that runs on the Tootsie Roll platform, I elect.

Cheers,
Victoria

Tully said...

Don't you folks know a new govern-mint when you see one? :-)

eelpout said...

Simon,
Dishonesty? That was weak, and yes I read the link.

ajf said...

The logo looks like a crescent moon rising over an American landscape. Probably not the best choice for a guy whose middle name is Hussein.

tiggeril said...

Looks more like a piece of macaroni than a crescent moon.

Simon said...

NL - His statements thusfar have been absolutely dishonest, IMO, for the reasons explained in those thinks.

Simon said...

NL - Actually, I should say that it's possible that he actually believes this stuff, in which case he's a moron, but I really don't think Obama's actually stupid enough to believe this stuff. I think it's a propaganda tactic, which makes it dishonest. But really, when all you've got to argue about with a candidate is whether they're stupid or mendacious, that's not a great recomendation for the candidate.

NSC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NSC said...

Hmmm, the logo is great - for an agriculture lobbying group - I don't see what it is going to do to get him nominated. My prediction - he is Hillary's VP or a flash in the pan - or both.

Palladian said...

Hmm, Obama as the sun?

Eternal source of light divine
with double warmth thy beams display,
and with distinguish'd glory shine,
to add a lustre to this day.

The day that gave great Obama birth
who fix'd a lasting peace on earth...

United nations shall combine,
to distant climes the sound convey
that Obama's actions are divine,
and this the most important day!
The day that gave great Obama birth
who fix'd a lasting peace on earth.

Henry said...

That's weird looking logo.

It looks like the logo for an energy company. Alternative energy, preferably. Vote O for Othanol.

Or maybe we're supposed to be peering at an Iowa sunrise through the porthole of an ocean liner?

It's distinctive, though, which is what matters.

dave said...

I'm no fan of Obama, but if he's irritating moronic brownshirt fucks like yourself, I may change my mind.

PeterP said...

Logo's great for catching the old hippie vote. Is that though his core constituency?

eelpout said...

Simon, it just seemed a bit of character, based soley on political rhetoric that every politician engages in.

NSC said...

I'm no fan of Obama, but if he's irritating moronic brownshirt fucks like yourself, I may change my mind.

You have a career ahead of you as an Edwards' campaign blogger, dave.

vbspurs said...

The logo looks like a crescent moon rising over an American landscape. Probably not the best choice for a guy whose middle name is Hussein.

Nahhhh.

(Boy I thought I read into stuff)

Having said that, I HAVE thought about this logo a lot today, believe it or not, as I drove around.

I can only come to one conclusion:

It's "Morning In America" time, again.

Elements:

Follow the Red Brick Road -- evocative of the Midwest, with its tough brick edifices, and endlessly straight country roads.

He is the grandson of hearty Kansas folk, after all. And as if there were any doubt, he cinches the gay vote, too.

Then, Ozone-friendly, cloudless skies form a protective cocoon around the sun, as it rises? sets?, I'm a city girl, help me people.

(I say rises. More below)

He's sending a message in a bottle about that to the Eco-Warrior crowd, fer shure.

And since it feels a lot like 9/10 these days, as someone noted earlier, Obama wants you to understand that, should he become Prez, it'll feel a lot like 12/6 too -- 1941 to be specific.

He's taking us back to a kindler, simpler America, where Pearl Harbour hadn't been bombed by Nippon yet.

And anyway, we're the REAL land of the Rising Sun!

Good stuff, Senator, good stuff.

Cheers,
Victoria

XWL said...

I find Sen. Obama's timing curious.

There's a big meeting in Jamestown organized by Tavis Smiley entitled, "State of the Black Union 2007" (presented by Wells Fargo).

It's been on C-SPAN for the past few hours, seems like Sen. Obama is conspicuous in his absence.

And what about his logo suggests a sunrise and not a sunset?

(and isn't all this a bit style over substance-ish, which could be seen as a summary of Sen. Obama's career thus far?)

If by some odd chance Sen. Obama were elected President (and not Vice-President, which seems to be the real goal behind his 'audacious' bid for the presidency), it might not be a disaster for the country, but it would be a complete disaster for the race-pimps like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

For a person like him to achieve prominence without their help exposes them as being powerless, petty creeps and demagogues.

Simon said...

XWL - genius. I'm borrowing that, if you don't mind.

XWL said...

Simon said, "XWL - genius. I'm borrowing that, if you don't mind. "

Borrow away, it's homage, not theft.

Besides, I've already moved on to a new slogan for Sen. Obama,


"All Hole, No Doughnut"

Simon said...

XWL - That resonates with EM's take:

"Apparently, [Obama] believes that he is some sort of viable candidate, despite our complete black hole of knowledge on his beliefs, his priorities and his political ideology."

Ruth Anne Adams said...

People, people. I may be channeling my Freudian-Shakespeare professor [God rest his soul], but can't you see it? It's totally sexual. It's all about the "O." Oh, oh, oh, oBAMa!

It makes me want paraphrase the Lili von Shtupp question: Is it true how zey say zat you people are... gifted?

Oh. It's twue. It's twue. It's twue, it's twue!

Unknown said...

Is he so devoid of substance that all they can find to talk about is the logo?

Yes, Mr. Obama, you are presumptuous. Here's one of Lincoln's stump speeches. Compare and contrast as to substance and political courage.

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm

amba said...

It's a Cheerio!

Actually it is a good, rich logo that means many things at once -- also a characteristic of Obama's speeches -- and I agree with you about the farmland furrows. Goes with Illinois and evokes "amber waves of grain." "O" may be sexual (as Ruth Anne suggests) but it can also be an exclamation of wonder. It lends itself to almost endless parsing, including the hostile or skeptical, which isn't a bad thing. There's no such thing as negative attention. That white hole in the middle is also a black hole sucking us in (which I would have said even if it wasn't for the racial wordplay). Try staring at the thing and then staring at a white wall and looking at its negative image.

- amba

vbspurs said...

"O." Oh, oh, oh, oBAMa!

Excellent!

Don't forget, either, that to win the Presidency, he might have to carry the all-important electoral college votes in Ohio.

And wasn't there a recent movie about orgasms in Ohio called, self-referentially, "The Oh in Ohio".

Plot Summary for The OH in Ohio

Priscilla Chase seems to have it all -- the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect husband -- except for in bed, where sex has always left her a bit short of the finish line.

"Have it all, the perfect job, left a bit short of the finish line"

Derned if that doesn't sound like the good Senator from Illinois.

Cheers,
Victoria

Maisie said...

All I can see is a Lifesaver! Very difficult to see the rising/setting sun -- you have to stand back, squint hard, and put your mind to it. I'm inclined to think such an ambiguous logo can't be effective in a political contest.

Roger Sweeny said...

Like downtownlad, I wonder if he has partnered with Cingular to create the new AT&T.

Paul said...

Re: Non-red/white/blue campaigns: Nader in 2000 and Carter/Mondale 1980 were green and white, and I think Dole's unsuccessful primary bid in 1980 was blue and yellow.

ruth said...

obama's logo most definately depicts a SUNRISE as shown on the enclosed site...you have to be fast to catch it or refresh and scroll quickly to mid.left.
...http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/01/obama_campaign_cochair_questions_hillarys_tears.php......mohamad said the sun would rise in the west when mahdi appears...Is this the SUN RISING IN THE WEST..west meaning usa..The red and white stripes below the sunrise would surely indicate it..If true then a vote for obama is a vote for islam world domination..