McCain cops a tongue lashing (Aussie's enjoying "fun with McTongue")

[depakid]

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/11/05/mcdebate1_wideweb__470x242,2.jpg

The acutely embarrassing photograph of Senator John McCain caught with his tongue hanging out after the third and final presidential debate has become a subject of pitiless ridicule on the internet.

The original image, which was plastered over many newspapers and websites when it was taken on October 15, has since found a new lease of life.

The image has been Photoshopped, remastered, and creatively exploited, resulting in a cascade of spoofs and spin-offs, the likes of which have not been seen since the picture of France's Zinedine Zidane head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the final of the football World Cup in 2006 received the same treatment.

The mocked-up McCain images range from clever to crude and include a competition run by a New York radio station, a group on the photo-sharing site Flickr and a dedicated site called funwithmccain.com.

Several feature the Senator from Arizona dressed up as the tongue-dangling bass player Gene Simmons from the '80s glam rock group Kiss. The McCain spoofs also feature the senator attempting to kiss babies, his running mate, President Bush and Senator Barack Obama.

The original McCain photo was snapped by Reuters photographer Jim Bourg as the Republican nominee and his Democrat rival left the stage after the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/web/mccain-cops-a-tongue-lashing/2008/11/05/1225560900431.html