Jimmy Carter = Jesus Christ?
Recently I purchased a book from the Library of Congress with 200 years of election art. As I casually flipped through the pages of campaign posters and such from Barack Obama all the way back through Andrew Jackson I came across the image to the left.
Yes, that is Jimmy Carter not so subtly portrayed as Jesus Christ with the also less than subtle slogan, “J.C. Can Save America!” All I could think as I stared at this image is if any candidate, either left or right, could get away with this kind of messianic imagery today?
Certainly, some on the right will make the case that President Obama has tried to cultivate such an image but it hasn’t been anywhere near as blatant as this image. Perhaps Ron Paul has come closest on the right to making himself out to be the savior of the United States but again even he hasn’t come out dressed as Jesus.
Anyway, the book is well worth the money if you really enjoy the political imagery that candidates try to cultivate of themselves.
