Obama As Joker "Mean Spirited and Dangerous," Bush as Monkey, "Meh…"

The picture of President Barack Obama as Heath Ledger’s Joker is the hottest Internet meme right now, but some on the left are upset by the comparison. First, let’s show how this all got started. Recently, this picture started showing up around Los Angeles:

Photo Credit: Newsbusters

Since it started, it has gone viral.

Here’s the picture I’m using as the wallpaper on my iPhone:

Now one Obama supporter says this goes beyond political spoofery and is “dangerous“:

Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous.

Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves.

“Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery,” says Hutchinson, “it is mean-spirited and dangerous.”

“We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama.”

Right. Like this was dangerous:

Or this:

Yes, I’m sure there was outrage when these hit the Internet…I just can’t remember it. Like Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters said:

In reality, if I wanted to, I could likely produce hundreds of disgusting drawings of Bush, Cheney, and others in their Administration plastered at publications across the fruited plain the last eight years.

That was acceptable commentary and political satire back then.

Now that Obama is in the White House, it’s called “mean-spirited and dangerous.”

What exactly is dangerous about this? While we are issuing public challenges, I issue one to you, President Hutchinson. Explain what is dangerous about the First Amendment. How is it dangerous to exercise that right? Or is the picture simply erroneous and you are the real clown?