Barack Obama's Seal Gets No Seal of Approval

A seal composed by the Obama campaign that appeared at a meeting of governors in Chicago has raised some concern by Obama supporters about accusations of arrogance by the Senator's detractors and political opponents. The seal, which featured a bald eagle on a blue background and the motto "Vero Possumus" (a Latin phrase meaning, roughly, "Yes, We Can", the campaign's motto), is strikingly similar to the presidential seal and was meant for one-time usage, according to the Obama camp. It was meant to convey a stateliness to the proceedings.

But many Obama supporters made it clear on the Obama website that they believed the Barack Obama seal showed a possible presumption that could be misconstrued by the Republicans to further press home their contention that Senator Barack Obama is arrogant and elitist. According to Reuters, the campaign decided that they would retire the seal.

According to CNN, there is a little known law that prohibits the use of the presidential seal or a close likeness. Rock groups, "Saturday Night Live", and others have run afoul of it. Even President George H. W. Bush decided not to use it during a speech -- and he was president at the time.

But pundits and radio talk show hosts are more focused on the "arrogance" aspect of the story, adding another non-issue to the ever growing list of non-issues and distractions that have cropped up in this seemingly neverending presidential campaign. No one seems to want to debate the real issues or platform points of the candidates, just relatively inconsequential minutiae like John McCain's age or his wife's tax returns, Barack Obama's wife's image or his lack of lapel accessories.

Or Barack Obama's seal.

The bottom line remains that topics such as Barack Obama's seal should be interesting asides, not topics of heated debates that question psychological motive or intent. But, nonetheless, they are topics of debate and some have influence over how voters will choose their president.