WP: Obama Fever Is Breaking On the Web
A Rash of New Sites Throws Some Cold Water On the Hot Candidate
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 23, 2008; Page C01
It's the nature of the Web -- and, really, of life. What goes up must come down. What's popular becomes too popular. What's seen as hip and hot and cool eventually gets mocked.
Even, yes, Barack Obama.
In recent days, sites have popped up indicating that the ongoing online Obamamania has hit a wall. What kind of wall? A snarky, ironic, this-Obama-thing-has-gotten-over-the-top wall. Obama's smiling mug is mashed up on countless faces on SenatorObamas.com. He's Sumobama. He's Pharaohbama. He's Navajobama, complete with a blue-and-white feathered headdress. The blog Is Barack Obama the Messiah? features a photo of the Illinois senator standing on a flight of stairs, Christlike, above an adoring crowd while a ray of light beams from above.
And on the aptly titled Web site BarackObamaIsYourNewBicycle.com, the candidate caters to all your needs: Barack Obama made your bed . . . Barack Obama folded your laundry . . . Barack Obama picked you up at the airport . . . Barack Obama remembered your birthday . . . Barack Obama is your new bicycle . . .
That's funny ha, ha. And funny ouch.
Sites such as the Messiah blog are created by voters who don't care much for Obama.
"I just can't stand it. Whenever I hear him speak, I shake my head, thinking, 'Are people hearing his campaign's overtly religious tones?' " says Michael Hussey, 29, an Internet entrepreneur who runs RateMyTeachers.com. Hussey is a libertarian, his politics a cross between Ron Paul's and Rudy Giuliani's, he says. After reading about the Messiah blog on the conservative site Instapundit, Hussey started a Facebook group where members post comments such as "I hear he shoots lightning out of his fingertips to smite the unbelievers!" The group has 37 members.
But most of the sites that poke fun at online Obamamania are engineered by supporters, some of whom are explaining to themselves -- and to lovers, friends, co-workers -- Obama's pull. The Web is an expressive, creative sandbox, a virtual playground where you can be as self-effacing and self-indulgent as possible. It's a place where inside jokes become, when effective, everyone's jokes....
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