Yesterday, an image surfaced in the media of Barack Obama. The photo, taken 2 years ago on a trip to Somalia, features Obama dressed in what the media has coined "Muslim garb". The Obama campaign is accusing Clinton's staff of leaking the photo to the media in an attempt to portray Obama as a Muslim and thus win over votes. I found this controversy to be a perfect example of the power of a photograph and also the myth of photographic truth. In my opinion, it is ridiculous that this image even created a controversy as Obama was likely just dressed in this clothing as a sign of respect. Despite the fact that Obama has consistently repeated that he is a Christian, this image will likely sway at least a few voters. Perhaps some people will take this image as evidence of the truth, meaning that he is in fact tied to the Muslim religion. If the Clinton campaign was responsible for leaking this image, it would be a disgusting tactic. Campaign 2008 is supposed to be about "change", but the Clinton campaign seems to be interested in continuing the same mud-slinging that is so prevalent in politics. Regardless, this conflict displays the power of a photograph to create such controversy.
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