http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6994
September 14, 2008. WASHINGTON - (AP) Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.
Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.
The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.
David Nammo, executive director of the lobbying group FRC Action, said summit organizers were told the boxes were a parody of Obama's policy positions but had not examined them closely.
Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states.
While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.
Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.
On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"
The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
The Obama campaign declined to comment.
Wearing white chef's aprons, Whitlock and DeMoss were doing a brisk business at noon Saturday selling the waffle mix to people crowded around their booth. Two pyramids of waffle mix boxes stood several feet high on the booth's table.
"It's the ultimate political souvenir," DeMoss told a customer.
Asked if he considered the pictures of Obama on the box to be racial stereotypes, Whitlock said: "We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's — there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."
The socially conservative public policy groups American Values and Focus on the Family Action co-sponsored the summit.
September 15, 2008. MediaTakeOut.com just caught wind that CNN anchor Lou Dobbs was out hob nobbing with man who created the racially charged box of pancakes with offensive imagery.
But we can't take credit for this story, it belongs to the progressive site Pam's House Blend:
Hmmm...why would the page on the Obama Waffles site linked above suddenly get pulled? After all, Lou Dobbs, a speaker at the Values Voter Summit, stopped by the vendor table to give a slamming endorsement of the product; it depicts Barack Obama as a Muslim bug-eyed Aunt Jemima. The photo, as you can see, shows an approving Dobbs with a box of the mix in his hand.
For those of you who may have missed yesterday's post, Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two aspiring Klansmen writers from Tennessee set up a booth sponsored by Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council to sell the Obama Waffles, asserting it was "political satire."
After Think Progress covered this story, the page was yanked from the ObamaWaffles web site, and FRC issued a feeble press release trying to distance itself from the product, claiming it didn't vet the vendor's product and didn't realize the boxes on display were "offensive material."
The man doesn't deserve to have a job. His ratings are awful, his anti-hispanic and anti-immigrant remarks border on racist, and he's well past retirement age.
If you want to tell CNN how you feel, here are some emails to a few of the higher ups at the network:
· Jim.Walton@turner.com (Jim Walton is the president of CNN Worldwide)
· Susan.Grant@turner.com (Susan Grant is executive vice president of CNN News Services)
· Jon.Klein@turner.com (Jonathan Klein is president of CNN/US
· Rena.Golden@turner.com (senior vice president and executive producer of CNN.com)
· David.Payne@turner.com (senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com)
· Mitch.Gelman@turner.com (senior vice president and senior executive producer of CNN.com)
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