ObamaCare Metaphor

On Thursday, July 20, 2009, President Obama held what has been referred to as the “Beer Summit” in the in the Rose Garden of the White House. The President hosted Officer James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Dept. and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. of Harvard University at the White House for a beer and a bit of conversation.

Since some idiots seem to care, Pres. Obama drank Bud Light, Officer Crowley drank Blue Moon, and Prof. Gates drank red Stripe – none of which are brewed by wholly American-own breweries.

Whatever value the tête-à-tête had in the context of race relations and racial reconciliation remains to be seen, as does whatever value it may have in smoothing over Pres. Obama’s earlier “racial charged” stupidity.

All that aside, the “Beer Summit” was a Public Relations and Propaganda – yes;  irrespective of who’s in office, almost anything officially released to the media by the White House is propaganda – failure that affects an unrelated and far greater issue – the healthcare debate and the Liberals’ America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (AAHCA).

Obamacare Metaphor - It's not pretty
A Metaphor for ObamaCare

The young, healthy Black man walks ahead proudly, never looking back, as the middle-class White Man helps the Aged and Infirm Black Man down the steps. That is not a pretty picture, but is a picture that sums up one of the opposition’s views in the healthcare debate.

This photo is literally a snapshot in time. Nobody, other than the people that were there, knows the context of the photo or what happened and was discussed and agreed upon beforehand, nor do we know what happened later – even by a few seconds. Irrespective of that, this photo should never have been released and would never have been released by a wise politician who possessed a wealth of experience.

Yes; I consider Pres. Obama, his coterie, and his followers to be enemies of America, but do they have to be stupid enemies? Stupidity can cause more harm than malice.

Yes, this picture has already been chosen as a metaphor for ObamaCare – i.e. America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 – and the meme is expanding across the internet and making forays into radio and television.

I don’t – solely for the sake of this discussion – care about your views or beliefs regarding healthcare in America; I care about your views on intelligent leadership that understands the battlefield they find themselves upon. Can you truly countenance such stupidity? Can you truly place your faith – and your literal and figurative wellbeing –  in someone either arrogant or stupid enough to release this image during these times?

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6 Responses to “ObamaCare Metaphor”

  1. All Men Are Brothers: Barack Obama, Officer James Crowley, Henry Louis Gates, and Human Solidarity « Prometheus Unbound Says:

    […] notice, however, that some conservatives appear to be reading this picture malignantly, as Obama not paying attention to one in need of help, but drifting breezily forward in his […]

  2. zhann Says:

    To be honest, I am very confused. Why exactly are you comparing this picture to healthcare? What does this have to do with healthcare? This is the first time I am seeing this picture and my imediate impression is that of 3 people walking out of the white house. The fact that Crowley is helping Gates down the stairs gives the impression that the two resolved their differences … leading me to believe that this was a planned shot. Obama leading the pack gives me the impression that he is happy that the situation is ‘finally’ resolved. Honestly, I am sick of hearing about this non-issue.

    But healthcare? How did healthcare come into play here?

  3. Josh Brandt Says:

    I’m a little confused as well, but I think I have an idea about the metaphor.

    It could be a metaphor in the case that Obama will lead the way for healthcare. And that healthcare will aid the old and inspire the young to be leaders. I don’t think any of that is true about healthcare, but thats the best I can do without hearing a better explanation of the relationship between the picture and healthcare reform that has apparently become a meme.

  4. jonolan Says:

    The meme of this photo being a metaphor for Obama seems to have started at American Thinker (linked to in the post):

    As some AT commentators point out, this picture becomes a metaphor for ObamaCare. The elderly are left in the back, with only the kindness of the Crowleys of the world, the stand up guys, to depend on. The government has other priorities.

    One of the major subtexts of the health care debate involves the public’s fear of indifferent, powerful bureaucrats ruling their lives. It is one thing to wait in line at the DMV to find out which other line you should wait in, in order to begin the process of waiting for multiple bureaucrats to go through the motions of processing your request. I have spent entire afternoons going through this process.

    But when we get to health care, waiting often means enduring pain and dysfunction longer than necessary, sometimes a worsening of the condition, and sometimes death.

    That’s why I think this image will have genuine resonance. It captures something that older Americans in particular can relate to. The President presses ahead with a program that will tell them to take painkillers instead of getting that artificial hip.

    I don’t see it without “squinting” myself, but I’ve seen the photo and quotes from the American Thinker article a lot recently. It’s a growing meme.

    I would normally expect the White House to have people scan such images for possible negative imagery.

  5. Josh Brandt Says:

    In that case, if I’m understanding this correctly, I would have to agree with the metaphor.

  6. jonolan Says:

    Josh,

    And that’s the problem with and the stupidity of Obama’s marketing team releasing the photo. Once the context is added, people see the metaphor.

    You even, essentially “reversed” your position on what that metaphor would be.

    For the purposes of this post, I’m not judging the accuracy of the metaphor. I’m just pointing out the stupidity inherent in allowing this sort of image to be officially released.

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