Cuban flag with Che Guevara on wall at Barack Obama Houston (volunteers) office
Via this and newsbusters.org/blogs/d-s-hube/2008/02/11/another-flag-issue-obama, we learn that a Cuban flag - superimposed with an image of Che Guevara - is on the wall of Barack Obama's Houston office. The report is here, and the segment showing the flag is below:
The three ladies are apparently volunteers who apparently simply opened the office while waiting for paid staff to arrive. Expect creative Obama supporters to claim they're moles from the Hillary Clinton campaign. Less creative Obama supporters will try to claim that the volunteers were just being hip 'n' ironic, despite the three ladies not looking the hip 'n' ironic type.
UPDATE: There are a couple Photoshops here.
UPDATE 2: I called the Houston Volunteer office - presumably the one on the tape - and the lady who answered the phone said there had been a "misrepresentation" and told me to call their Austin office. That office has not yet opened, so I was able to speak with Josh Earnest from their main media relations department. Despite a bad connection he clarified that the office on the tape is not and will not be an official office, so I've updated the title of this post to include "(volunteers)". He directed me to the following which has since been appended to the Fox 26 report:
The office featured in this video is funded by volunteers of the Barack Obama Campaign and is not an official headquarters for his campaign.
That conflicts with the statement from Fox 26 implying that the volunteers were just there to open the office, and that that very office would later be occupied by Obama staffers. The campaign has also called the flag "inappropriate".
UPDATE 3: Via this, we learn that the same flag - or another copy - was featured in this February 3 report (link):
The person in the picture - also in the video above - is identified as Maria Isabel, mentioned as a supporter here and in other news stories.
And, someone by the same name and also in Houston has her own page here:
my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/mariaisabel
She identifies herself as "* Maria Isabel Precinct Captain 002 *" and as "A Hispanic Woman Obama Community Organizer... Chicago Illinois, Camp Obama 16". Do those indicate some level of non-volunteer status?
UPDATE 4: The DUmmies weigh in. Some don't see the problem with Guevara.
UPDATE 5: Some Obama supporters oppose - and others defend - Che here:
my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/C44h
Posted to Politics at February 11, 2008 07:56 PM
