Politics

Obama takes Rosa Parks’ bus seat

Neil Munro White House Correspondent
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The White House used a tweeted picture of President Barack Obama to mark the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ bus protest in Montgomery, Ala, on Saturday.

The tweet said “Today is the 57th Anniversary of the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Pic: President Obama on Rosa Parks bus.” It included a link to the photo, which was taken last April at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.

The White House did not send out a picture of Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger sparked a high-profile protest seen as a major turning point in the battle for civil rights.

The latest example of the White House’s Obama-centric perspective has prompted some derision from online commentators.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if we start print money with his picture on it,” said Facebook commenter Tracy Barbin.

“BREAKING: White House orders NASA to rename 7th planet ‘Obamanus,’” said a Dec. 2 tweet from conservative activist Adam Baldwin.

In August, Obama’s staff used a picture of Obama staring at the sky to mark the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon.

In November, Obama’s staff tweeted a picture of their boss when marking Vice President Joe Biden’s birthday.

Since May 2011, Obama and his staff have tried to grab as much credit as possible for the mission that successfully killed Osama Bin Laden.

However, the president and his staff like to downplay Obama’s role in any problems facing the country.

For example, Obama has avoided questions about the policies that led up to the lethal Sept. 11 jihadi attack in Benghazi, Libya, or the real-estate bubble that has so deeply damaged the economy.

During the bubble, Obama worked as a lawyer in 1998 to get mortgage loans for people with very poor credit histories. More than half of his clients have since gone bankrupt or have been foreclosed.

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