Much of the political landscape has been abuzz with the unveiling of the Obama Presidential Campaign Seal. I first noticed this on Drudge, and made light of it on the Neowin Forums. I was taken aback by the audacity Obama showed in conveying this image, but I don't come close to some of those that are citing obscure law regarding the use of the Presidential Seal and the legalities involved.
For those wondering, here is a comparison of the two seals:
While this seal shows great confidence, it also shows a great deal of arrogance - not that Obama would try to change the official seal, but I'm sure there are people who will believe such things. I have a feeling that those already in Obama's camp will find nothing wrong with this, and those against him will be screaming bloody murder. The independents probably don't care too much - or at least won't by the time November rolls around.
I applaud Obama for making his own seal, but think he should have approached it differently. Simply by analyzing the two seals and looking at the history of the Presidential Seal, there were a couple mistakes made that makes one scratch their head.
First, Obama kept the eagle holding the olive branch and the thirteen arrows. The olive branch represents peace, and the arrows a combination of the thirteen colonies and war. Oddly enough however, Obama removed the fifty stars along the inside border - which represent each state. I would think that for speaking on unity, he would have left all states in there to allude to his supposed strength as a unifier.
Next, Obama replaced the President's coat of arms with that of his own logo. Of course he can't keep the same logo, but when you take into account that the original coat of arms represents the military strength of the United States. My wife, who abhors politics, asked sarcastically if he was replacing the military strength with that of "hope," which is better than any witty comment I may have come up with.
Obama also changed the Latin from "Out of Many, One" to "Yes, We Can." I have no issues with this and thought it was quite intelligent. Others have pointed out that the Latin comes across as opossum, which is something that he shouldn't want voters associating him with, but I guess you can't win over everyone.
Finally, instead of the prestigious colors used in the original seal, the Obama seal uses a blue and white palette, which looks to be geared toward the "Blue States" and Democrats, rather than all Americans. A patriotic Red/White/Blue palette would have better served to subconsciously give the idea of a united America.
Will this come back to haunt Obama in the general election? No, as it shouldn't. But it does give Americans another log to add to the fire of his arrogance which can be his downfall if the American People see him as another elitist.
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