King Barack Obama Is The Tabloid Dream
“HE HAS a dream,” says the Sun’s front-page headline, words illustrated by a picture of Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama, mouth agape and right hand raised to the heavens.
News is that a man called Barack Obama has been chosen to contest the leadership of a foreign country, namely the United States of America.
The Sun sees this as big news, bigger than the Express’s front-page news of “PETROL STRIKE CHAOS”, the Star’s screamer that “BIG BRO: WE WILL SCREEN LIVE SEX” and the Mirror’s news of Gazza 2008. It’s that big.
The details are that over in the US, racism – Obama is of mixed race – has given way to misogyny – Hillary Clinton is defeated. Now the fight is between Obama and the aged John McCain, and we will see if racism can be undone by ageism. The race to the White House is the ultimate equal opportunities reality TV show.
Were he alive, Sammy Davis Junior, that one-eyed, black Jew, could have stood as an independent. Although, does he need to be alive? Can a dead man be elected president of the US, or his ghost?
Back to that Sun front-page headline, and it’s picture of assassinated human rights activist Martin Luther King, who in August 1963 declared on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’.”
The Sun sees parallels between one black man who wanted us to look beyond race and religion and another half-black man. The Sun hears the clarion call.
Do you?
Note: If the Sun can link Barack ‘Yes We Can’ Obama with Martin Luther King, why can’t it see the more obvious link between the great mixed-race hope and Bob The Builder?
Posted: 5th, June 2008 | In: Politicians, Tabloids Comments (7) | TrackBack | Permalink
