Obama Campaign Unveils Another Creepy Get-Out-The-Vote Initiative

Once upon a time, there was a controversial political leader who asked his followers to pledge their devotion to him and his policies by making a certain hand signal. His name was Barack Obama: 

"There's a new way to show that you're voting for someone who represents us all. Choose one of your reasons for voting and write it on your hand, then pledge to vote. You can share a photo on Twitter and Instagram with #ForAll." 

Here's the image: 

Liberals find it detestable that Romney is running his campaign like a country club shareholders' meeting, yet they seem to have no problem with Obama treating them like parishioners in the People's Temple. Someone will have to explain that to me. 

UPDATE: David Freddoso links to this fascinating print, available in Obama's campaign store: 

I'm guessing that's the special flag Democrats are supposed to face as they pledge allegiance to Obama.

Another update: Reason contributor David Harsanyi assembles "A Short Visual History of the Creepy Obama Cult." 

Comments

[Rich]

You know who else wrote stuff on her hand?

[Mike Riggs]

Palin!

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

That girl in Chemistry class in high school.

[LTC(ret) John]

That hot chick back in 1985 who swore she would call me the next day?

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

That was MY number she wrote down! Hah!

PWND!

[Ted S.]

On the main page I don't get these images. I only get some image named grey.gif which, as the name implies, is a blank gray box.

[Bruce Majors for Congress]

http://s1059.photobucket.com/a.....f08bbd.jpg

[Lord Humungus]

so what flavor is the Kool-Aid? Will it be served from washtubs?

[albo]

Supporting Obama is like Islam: A religion AND a way of life.

That's why so many people are shocked, SHOCKED, that anybody could seriously oppose him. They figure we must be racist or insane to be that way.

[R C Dean]

Richard Fernandez had a great observation about how there has always been the odor of incense around the Obama Presidency.

[ClubMedSux]

The roar of the masses could be farts.

[LTC(ret) John]

"I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it. It was mere foolery. I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown (yet 'twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets) and, as I told you, he put it by once?but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again, then he put it by again?but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third time. He put it the third time by. And still, as he refused it, the rabblement hooted and clapped their chapped hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps and uttered such a deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown that it had almost choked Caesar?for he swooned and fell down at it. And for mine own part, I durst not laugh for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air. "

[ClubMedSux]

"Soft and understanding eyes of the young, moving with abandon atop the green lawns. Malleable as luck allows faking all the ties, forced out in time these expressions met.

Improvised inventions, lost in the way. Absolute the course shich instinct betrays.

Grinding in reversal, outdo til done. Proper naked self, solutions surround in brightness be it real. Blinded and free.

Pastel gems hit, pearlesque in flaw. Spark of the instant challenging the time, view the observer's plagiarizing hands."

[sarcasmic]

I'm glad I don't judge entertainers by their politics, or I'd have nothing to listen to or watch.

[Libertymike]

How many times can one see The Hunger Games?

I went 3 times. Once by myself; once with my wife and once with my two 17 year old nephews.

[Devil's Advocate]

Yes, I prefer to see Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta rather than in pro-Obama ads.

[sarcasmic]

I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your tv
I'm the cult of personality
I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three
I'm the cult of personality

[darius404]

Holy shit, it's Obama's theme song! It even mentions "a Nobel Prize".

[Red Rocks Rockin]

20 years later, it still amazes me that Living Colour included as many progressive icons in the song/video as they did.

[sarcasmic]

Racist!

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

I love these guys. They rock HARD.

[Ted S.]

Everyone wants Alamanian when he's bi.

[Devil's Advocate]

I proposed that as Obama's theme song in 2008 and people either laughed uncomfortably or called me racist. The guy could be my doppelganger and I would still think that his policies suck.

[hamilton]

I would do anything, anything, to see a viral campaign where people write "Secret Presidential Kill Lists" on their hands and upload them with that hash tag.

[Spoonman.]

Some guy who seemed mildly retarded approached me in the lobby of my building yesterday:

Sir, are you registered to vote?

Yep.

Important election.

Nah, I don't think so.

Well, big difference between the platforms.

No, not really.

Well, there's personal differences between Romney and Obama.

No, that doesn't really matter.

Well...

[elevator comes]

[nobody]

Did you end up moving to the Philly area? I can't imagine there would be too many get out the vote people in TX.

[Spoonman.]

Yeah, that's where I am now.

[darius404]

Did he say he actually was GOING to vote? I was registered in 2008, and I didn't vote then.

[Bee Tagger]

This never happens to me. I would enjoy expressing my opinion to a complete stranger on the street who felt compelled to confront me with his. Instead I only find the occasional facebook post and I pretend to be too high and mighty (and humble) to talk politics on facebook with its implicit assumption that other people want to read what I think.

[SugarFree]

They are swarming all over campus. I usually don't give them too hard a time if they are only asking people to register, but when any of them get "most important election!!1!" on me, I tell them I'm registered Libertarian. Most recoil like I threw acid in their face.

[RBS]

This is often the best way to end unpleasant conversations with morons.

[Ted S.]

I got called by a pollster a few months back and had fun when I told her I was voting for Gary Johnson.

I actually felt bad for the young lady asking the questions: she was just earning a paycheck and seemed to realize she was administering a badly-designed poll.

[Generic Stranger]

They're just one arm movement away from showing their true colors.

/Godwin

[Drake]

It's the thought behind the salute to the supreme leader, not the details of the salute that really matters.

[Trespassers W]

Sorry, Riggs pre-Godwinned the thread. Good effort, though.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

does obama really not have anybody on staff whose job it is to look at proposed intiatives like this and say "no. this is creepy, cult of personality bullshit. don't do it"?

does he exist? do they ignore him?

i suggest these people install infrared targeting beacons in their hands. magic marker is SO 20th century. this way, the drones can find them from within a crowd. that would be a true symbol of their loyalty and trust in obama - installing a beacon so they can send targetable traceable pulses of infrared love to obama's drones overhead.

available for the ultimate sacrifice at any time.

http://www.wired.com/images_bl.....crop21.jpg

[invisible furry hand]

at this stage, creepy, cult of personality bullshit is all he's got

[Jerry on the road]

#ZombiesForAll.

[Jerry on the road]

Yes, #ZombiesForAll.

[Jerry on the road]

Yes, the hashtag should read #ZombiesForAll.

[Tulpa Doom]

This is strictly internal stuff for those already devoted to BO. I have never seen any of this reported on in MSM outlets.

They know it's creepy as hell to anyone who's not already on their side. Doesn't matter; it helps solidify their supporters to give them $ and volunteer work.

[JW]

Someone will have to explain that to me.

Because the other guy's drooling, cult-like sycophancy is really creepy.

[The Hammer]

You mean Tulpa?

[Tulpa Doom]

That must be why I was raking Mitt over the coals over his 47% comments.

[OldMexican]

Someone will have to explain that to me.

Because only He can relieve us from our burdens...

He will relieve us from our wallets.

[ClubMedSux]

Hare Krishna guy: Have you heard of Krishna Consciousness?

Homer: This, Bart, is a crazy man! [moves on]

Christian: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Homer: [Sarcastic] Right, that'll work. [moves on]

Obama campaign volunteer: A new and better life awaits you on our distant home planet, Blisstonia.

Homer: Hmmm, makes sense!

[Tulpa Doom]

You could take this image and insert "POVERTY" above the "FOR ALL" in the middle, then post that to facebook.

I won't because I lost like 20 friends the last time I laid into BO in my newsfeed.

[Mensan]

I understand that. I'm losing FB friends (which are really just old acquaintances who I have no interest in actually talking to in person) at an exponential rate the closer it gets to election time. I delete them as soon as they post any pro-Obama or pro-Romney bullshit. I do make exceptions for family, but that might be changing soon too since one whole side of my family are big pro-union lefties, and the other are Christian fundamentalist socons.

[darius404]

This is gonna be another one of those "Life of Julie" things that gets mocked and altered to death. I mean come ON, Obama people! How crappy are you at this propaganda thing?! Seriously, it's incredibly easy to subvert this.

Just get some people to write their "reason"s on their palms instead of the back of their hands, then photograph them making the Nazi salute. There. Subverted.

[VG Zaytsev]

Libertarians should upload photos of all the shit Obama's done that libs hate.

Kept Guantanamo Open.

Shuts Down Medical Marijuana Clinics

Extended the Bush Tax Cuts

Save Wall Street

Finished the Iraq War

Drone Strikes

Bucks for Billionaires

Made me Buy Insurance

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

Jinx - I posted this on FB an hour ago. Great minds, etc.

[R C Dean]

When will the Obama people learn that propaganda relies on controlling the message, and these Twitter hashtag campaigns are open-source and just begging to be highjacked? For hip, tech-savvy types, they seem remarkably dense.

[Alan Vanneman]

"Liberals find it detestable that Romney is running his campaign like a country club shareholders' meeting, yet they seem to have no problem with Obama treating them like parishioners in the Peoples Temple. Someone will have to explain that to me."

Maybe because you don't have to be rich to get into the People's Temple, whatever that is?

[invisible furry hand]

Maybe because you don't have to be rich to get into the People's Temple, whatever that is?

Wow.

[nobody]

The People's Temple was Jim Jones' cult, ya dummy.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

well, jones was a hardcore leftist. he was way more progressive/leftiwng than obama and regularly hobnobbed with the elite of the san francisco left

[nobody]

He was chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission. (Certain) People loved him.

[Mensan]

Not just progressive/leftist, but hardcore communist. He openly admitted that Mao Tse-tung was his personal idol, and he was an enthusiastic Marxist.

[Auric Demonocles]

Jim Jones died a decade before I was born, grandpa.

[nobody]

I was negative 4 when it happened, youngster.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm not your youngster, old man.

[The Hammer]

A surprisingly straightforward display of ignorance by Vanneman...

[T]

Yeah, he usually dresses his ignorance up before he takes it out on display.

[RBS]

Hahaha, I was shocked at how easy he made this one.

[Warty]

Jesus Christ. You're a moron, Vanneman.

[SugarFree]

He's too busy working on his homoerotic Holmes novels to do a simple web search.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Jim Jones? Kool-Aid? People's Temple? Jonestown, Guyana? What, are you a 15 year old girl, Alan? Jeesh.

[Cdr Lytton]

Anal Vanneman and the Giant Vat of Koolaid?

[Translucent Chum]

How bout a middle finger with 'no thanks'. Think that will make the poster?

[The Derider]

Comparing the pledge of allegiance to the Nazi salute?

The desperation is palpable.

[Andrew S.]

Remind me of how kids saluted the flag for the pledge prior to World War II?

[nicole]

And of what the Nazi salute was supposed to mean.

[MJGreen]

Salute = Salute.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Comparing the pledge of allegiance to the Nazi salute?

The pledge is to the flag and to the Republic, not a bucketload of GIBSMEDATs and prog boondoggles.

[The Derider]

The ad says specifically, "a pledge to vote"

Which is part of maintaining the Republic.

[SugarFree]

When you stomp off in a huff next time, joe, are you going to comeback even stupider than this? Is o3 a frightening glimpse into your future? Or is he you texting from the future? Whoa.

[RBS]

This comment was o3 level retarted combined with Tulpa level contrarianism.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

The ad says specifically, "a pledge to vote"

You left out "for GIBSMEDATs and prog boondoggles."

[Heroic Mulatto]

The Derider completely ignorant of history?

The mongoloidism is apparent.

[Heroic Mulatto]

goddamit

[Heroic Mulatto]

What did I ever do to you, SugarFree?

[SugarFree]

I am the hub of the karmic wheel. There is no right and wrong, no good and evil... just links that work and links that don't.

Namaste.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

WOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!

*mind PWND*

[JW]

pledge of allegiance to the Nazi salute

There's a difference between oaths of state fealty?

Go figure.

[The Derider]

There's a difference between states?

Go figure.

[JW]

We're just behind on building the camps and ovens.

You just aren't all that sharp these days, joe.

[Warty]

These days???

[SugarFree]

He used to be able to hold a conversation.

[Warty]

I looked at a bunch of his old posts a while ago, and I don't think that's true. I think we were just way more tolerant back then. There never was a time when he wasn't dishonest, snide, and glib(!).

[Sam Grove]

The difference between states is what people let them get away with.

Right now, our state can only get away with bombs over the middle east or wherever our government decides we have an enemy.

[SugarFree]

Wow, JW. He really showed you. He even used the same kiss-off you did. How does he come up with this witty repartee?

[JW]

He has them written on the sides of his lift shoes' soles.

[ant1sthenes]

The pledge of alliegance was originally performed with a straight-arm salute, and was rooted in the same fervent, militant nationalism as the other straight-arm salute. It was written by a Christian socialist with strong nationalist tendencies -- a national socialist, if you will. The pledge is a remnant of the American flirtation with fascism, and a reminder that the only lesson we actually learned from that era was that racism was bad.

So, it's perfectly legit, and Il Douchey is a creep.

[sasob]

I've got a little hand signal to show how much I support Obama: kind of a fist with one finger sticking up.

[sarcasmic]

You saying he's #1?

[invisible furry hand]

you want to give him some sort of rectal examination to ensure he's healthy enough for another four years?

[MP]

"Not just for some of us." For all of us. Particularly in Hollywood. Wait, what? WTF are a bunch of celebrities doing on a poster that's supposed to represent The People?

[Bardas Phocas]

You know most people are ugly and unknown?

[The Late P Brooks]

Forward, LEMMINGS!

[Apple]

"white guilt"

[sagdds]

Amen

[The Late P Brooks]

there has always been the odor of incense around the Obama Presidency.

That's not what it smells like to me.

[MJGreen]

Oh shit, they got Zach Braff!?

Obama's got my vote!

[The Late P Brooks]

"GIMME!" would encapsulate the campaign nicely.

[sagdds]

We are truly lost as a country.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

As I consider how I'm going to react to an Obama win in November, I realize that it's not the 4 more years of Obama that bothers me, since Romney really won't be much of a difference. It's the fact that people are stupid enough to vote for him.

[sarcasmic]

Racist!

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Technically, that would only make me half-racist

[Auric Demonocles]

Oh, we know you racistly subscribe to the one drop rule.

[LauraB]

Is that Scarlett Johanson in the lower-left hand corner? Check out the background. Is that the Dem convention from a couple of weeks ago? So this isn't a spontaneous response to what Romney said but a planned campaign that they're pretending is a spontaneous response?
Thought that was interesting.
Anyway, I think the ever-present creepy smiles puts them in Heaven's Gate territory. Can't wait until everyone gets their jumpsuits and sneakers.

[Joe M]

Yeah, and Jessica freakin' Alba to the right. They've gotten two of the most beautiful starlets on Earth supporting him; how can we resist?

[ChrisO]

They're not famous because of their brains. Just sayin'.

[Auric Demonocles]

They're good at pretending planned events are spontaneous responses to "offensive" speech.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Anyway, I think the ever-present creepy smiles puts them in Heaven's Gate territory.

In case Vanneman is still trolling this thread, Heaven's Gate was another cult, located in San Diego, America. They committed a mass suicide in 1997.

[Trespassers W]

Somebody tell Vanneman about Hitler while we're at it.

[Auric Demonocles]

Someone should send in a photo with something like "Overturning Obamacare" on their hand. There you go Riggs, I basically wrote your alt-text for you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Is there a better way of signaling that you are of the body?

[Joe M]

Someone please submit a photo with "2+2=5" written on their hand.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"More drones!"

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

"Present!"

[JW]

"Redistribute!"
"Indefinite detention"
"Illegal wars"

[Bomble]

Somebody missed that memo...http://imgur.com/7foUP

[Auric Demonocles]

No he didn't. Why would he pledge allegiance to himself?

[Seanrude]

Is that Angelina Jolie in the middle photo on the right hand side? If so, I am disappointed. She struck me as somewhat sensible, at least for someone who made out with her brother and drank Billy Bob Thornton's blood

[sarcasmic]

That's Jessica Alba dude.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Jessica Alba made out with Angelina Jolie's brother and drank Billy Bob Thornton's blood? What was she thinking?

[Auric Demonocles]

You don't think abortion is one of the 2 most important issues in this election?

[Seanrude]

nope

[The Late P Brooks]

OBEY

[LTC(ret) John]

I guess next up we will be seeing O! fans making videos where they read a manifesto, give a power fist salute and go out and immolate themselves in front of some bank or local GOP office?

[Espantapajaros]

Sieg Heil, baby.

[tigtow]

That actaulyl makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I like the sound of this.

http://www.PrivacyPros.tk

[LTC(ret) John]

actaulyl

Is that a prehistoric bird, complex hydrocarbon or an Aztec diety?

[Michael]

Does the one in the upper right read "Il Duce"?

[Bee Tagger]

I look forward to the next time I look a woman in the eyes and she angrily tells me "hey, reason for supporting obama is down here, buddy"

[Auric Demonocles]

Then you tell her "I'm not your buddy, sweettits".

[Auric Demonocles]

I understand why Obama would want to take out a huge swath of the south, but what does he have against New England? Is it just because they elected Romney as a governor? Also, why is the northwest, a reliably Democratic area, ground zero for that nuclear crater?

[T]

Indefinite NDAA Detention
Endlessly Increasing National Debt
Perpetual Union Bailouts

[The Late P Brooks]

OBEY

[JW]

"Gimmee! Gimmee! Gimmee!"

[Fist of Etiquette]

That flag. Is someone targeting the Pacific Northwest for extermination? Because I'm down with that.

[Bee Tagger]

That's Twilight territory. How do the blue/red teams translate to jacob/edward?

[Trespassers W]

Hey, can I get pay equal to Jessica Alba's?

[Lisa]

Hear hear!

I wonder if she's cool with being taxed to the point where everyone else ends up with the same net income as her. Of course she is, otherwise she wouldn't say that..right?

[Mainer2]

Penelope Cruz was stricken from my list when she signed the petition supporting Roman Polanski. Now Jessica Alba has to come off the list as well. Please don't tell me Salma Hayek has done or said anything like this.

[Proprietist]

Sorry, man:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.c.....ser-323020

[Mainer2]

Oh, Salma, we used to be so close.
I'm going to miss you.
Your name is as pretty as your boobies.

[Melmo]

All we have to do is look to history to see where this road leads. Mindless devotion to a leader who spreads fear and hate while calling it change and hope. Those who dare to speak up about the thinly veiled lies of his campaign are attacked by these mind numbingly stupid individuals. The liberal left does not see the utter hypocrisy of the President, his campaign, and the media who spread his propaganda and call it journalism. Just call this the modern Nazi hand salute and be done with it.

[Combaticus]

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead..."

[Mensan]

I don't do Twitter, but if anyone wants to use any of these ideas, please feel free:

"Unsustainable Debt"
"More Wars"
"19% Real Unemployment"
"Executions Without Trial"
"Kept Guantanamo Open"
"$16 TRILLION"
"$16,000,000,000,000"
"More Indefinite Detention"
"NDAA"
"Ignored War Powers Resolution"
"Sold Weapons to Middle East Dictators"
"Sold Weapons to Drug Cartels"
"More Drone Attacks"
"Started War In Libya"
"Started War In Yemen"
"Started War In Pakistan"
"Assassinated U.S. Citizens"
"Less Transparency"
"Secret Enemies List"
"Secret Kill List"
"Expanded TSA"
"Expanded Drug War"
"Crackdowns On Medical Marijuana"
"Extended Patriot Act"
"Secret Warrantless Email Spying"
"Secret Whitehouse Visitor Logs"
"Blocks More FOIA Requests"
"Tax Cheat = Treasury Sec"
"Monsanto Execs Running FDA"
"LEAST Open And Transparent In History"
"Obamacare TAX"
"Solyndra"
"Never Signed A Budget"
"Prosecuted Whistleblowers"
"Illegally Seized Websites"
"Exempted BP from EPA Regs"
"Nationalized GM"
"No Raw Milk"
"No Non-Union Factories"
"Appointed Over 50 Lobbyists To Administration"
"Rewards Top Donors With Ambassadorships"

[Bruce Majors for Congress]

[Bruce Majors for Congress]

[markeric]

Nice Post thanks for sharing. Richard Fernandez had a great observation about how there has always been the odor of incense around the Obama Presidency.
ST0-172 | ST0-141

[Kevin263]

"Someone will have to explain that to me. "

What's to explain? Most people don't object to the creepy hand signals or other cultish behaviour, they merely dislike it when people show devotion to someone they revile.