Did you see the cartoon that ran in the New York Post today?

The general things I’ve heard is that this is inappropriate.  It’s over the line.  It calls Obama a monkey.  It brings race in to question and that’s just wrong.

Excuse my ignorance – but I don’t see this as a shot at Obama.  At all.

First of all, the news has recently been full of stories of the chimpanzee attack in Connecticut that resulted in the chimp being shot dead.  I’ve yet to hear anyone reference that story first when talking about this picture.

Second – Obama didn’t write the stimulus bill.  He signed it.  Several people that are not Obama are the ones that wrote the bill.  So the inference that this talks about Obama?  Where the heck does tha come from?

Third – hasn’t anyone heard the expression “A monkey could do a better job than that (insert job here)”

Am I the only person who took it to mean that someone suggested a crazed and/or brainless chimp wrote the bill, and NEVER once thought one second about Obama?  Or that it was just a critique of a bill that was so poorly written that a monkey could do it?

The media researcher in me wants to laugh, because this is such a clear example of an issue being prevalent in people’s minds (Obama’s recent signing of the bill) and immediately assigning Obama to anything that has to do with the bill.  Even if they are wrong in making that connection. I want to write a paper now and call it “Monkey See, Monkey Do: Where Agenda Setting Goes Wrong”.

Do you think people are sometimes just looking for something to get offended over?  I do.  I think this is a fabulous example.  If I’m wrong, and something about this screams “Obama” that I’m completely missing, please point it out.  Because right now all I want to do is roll my eyes at everyone that’s offended over this.