Plumbers for Obama
After all the talk about Joe the Plumber in last night’s final presidential debate, I thought folks might want to meet another plumber this morning. To do that, we’ll take a trip to the seaside town of Obama, Japan (250 miles west of Tokyo; population: 32,000), where
Obama mania has been in full swing for months. Obama means “little beach” in Japanese and it is in this town that a plumber friend of the mayor (I tried, but couldn’t find his name) has sculpted this bust of Obama, microphone in hand with a traditional Japanese sash around its head.
The bust stands at the entrance to the support group’s war room, a coffee bar and souvenir shop whose wares include Adachi-designed T-shirts, along with chopsticks, kites, and steamed cakes filled with sweet adzuki beans. Grill marks on the bean cakes depict the back of Obama’s head. “We thought it was not appropriate to have Mr. Obama’s face without his consent, since these are for sale,†[Mayor] Fujihara said. So far, thirteen hundred of Obama’s thirty-three thousand citizens have signed up for membership [in the Obama for Obama group]. [see "Talk of the Town" column in this week's New Yorker for complete article]
Members of Obama for Obama have recorded a boppy theme song “Obama is Beautiful World” whose refrain has been replaying in my head all morning.
More Obama art at Literary Safari:
The Annotated Obama
Obama Madonnari
October 16th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Finally, a story about this whole Joe the plumber nonsense that makes me smile!
October 16th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I’m stealing this. Don’t worry, I’ll link back to you.
My favorite part occurs at about the 1:30 mark when two of the guys start fighting and then another comes and brokers peace. Obama does mean beautiful world.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:38 am
This is fabulous, Sandhya. But is also worries me a bit. Imagine the pressure for that man, if he does become president next month. The entire world expects so much from him. It also says a lot about the state of affairs, everywhere, and how much the world needs leaders that they feel they can trust again… But I also find it totally relevant to our times, don’t you? Countries can’t continue to deal with their little affairs in their corner. We are ALL part of the the big picture, and everyone is concerned.
October 17th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Absolutely, Katia. I think the world is thirsty for a leader who sees and can make sense of the complexities in our interconnections and who isn’t afraid to see shades of gray. But you’re right. It is going to be a great deal of pressure. I think he can handle it though
October 17th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Thats funny! And why am I not surprised that Joe is nto really a plumber and a registered republican to boot!
BTW offtopic. Have you seen the movie “The Pool”? It is a hindi language movie made by Chris Smith who is better known for his documentaries.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
[...] ago, so I hope this is still as funny tomorrow as it is at this very moment. Thanks to Sandhya at Literary Safari for [...]